Meta, the parent company of Facebook, said it has removed more than 100 million fake Pages that were found to be engaging in scripted abuse to artificially inflate reach.
The company stated this as it announced sweeping new measures to combat coordinated fake engagement, fake accounts, and impersonation on its platform.
In a statement released on Thursday, Meta said over 100 million Pages were removed in 2024 alone, adding that it is now taking “more aggressive steps” to reduce spammy behaviour and safeguard creators from abuse.
Rising spam networks
According to Meta, fake engagement, such as coordinated comments and scripted follows, has become a persistent problem for all social platforms.
“Spam networks that coordinate fake engagement are an unfortunate reality for all social apps. We’re going to take more aggressive steps on Facebook to prevent this behavior,” Meta said.
- As part of its efforts, Facebook will begin reducing the visibility of comments that are detected as being part of coordinated inauthentic activity.
- Meta is also experimenting with a new feature that allows users to flag irrelevant or disruptive comments that do not align with the spirit of a conversation, a move aimed at promoting more meaningful interactions on the platform.
Targeting impersonators and fake profiles
Creators, especially those with large followings, are often targets for impersonation, a trend Meta is working hard to reverse.
In 2024, the company said it took down over 23 million profiles that were pretending to be content creators.
To further protect creators, Meta has enhanced Moderation Assist, a Facebook comment management tool, with new features that can detect and auto-hide comments from potential impersonators.
Creators can now also report impersonators directly within the comments section.
Speaking about the update, Head of Communications for Sub-Saharan Africa at Meta, Oluwasola Obagbemi, said:
“We’ve heard from users that Facebook Feed doesn’t always surface fresh and engaging content that people enjoy, and spammy posts often crowd out authentic voices.
“Our goal is to continue creating an environment where creators who invest in meaningful content are recognised and rewarded.
“These changes are part of our long-term investment in making Facebook a platform where creators can grow and people can connect through high-quality content.”
Strengthening content protection for creators
Beyond tackling impersonation, Meta said it is supporting original content by continuing to upgrade Rights Manager, a tool that helps creators protect their intellectual property from unauthorized reuse.
The platform is also offering more guidance and support to help original content thrive on Facebook.
“The content that creators share is an expression of themselves.When other accounts reuse their content without their permission, it takes unfair advantage of their hard work,” the company said.
Meta emphasized that these updates are part of a broader strategy to ensure that Facebook remains a platform for genuine expression, where creators are rewarded for original and engaging content, not spam or inauthentic behavior.
