Facebook Introduces Measures to Crack Down on Fake Accounts


After facing a lot of criticism recently, especially during the US Presidential election, Facebook is cracking down on fake news and fake accounts. The company announced on Wednesday that it is implementing system wide changes to crack down on fake accounts that spread fake news and cause mayhem.

The security improvement was described as being part of a broader effort to rid the leading social network of hoaxes, misinformation, and fake news by making sure people are who they claim to be, reads a report from USA Today.



To weed out fake accounts, the company is keeping a vigilant watch on on-going patterns and activities on the social network. Also, to easily respond to abuse reports, detection and removal of spam, as well as identification and elimination of fake accounts, the social network consistently builds or updates its technical systems.

“By constantly improving our techniques, we also aim to reduce the financial incentives for spammers who rely on distribution to make their efforts worthwhile,” Shaik wrote.

Facebook also noted that not every inauthentic account will be removed from the social network, as all sanctions will depend on the context and frequency of violations.

Furthermore, while the newly introduced measures against fake Facebook accounts are now rolling out globally, the actual methodology behind them will still evolve over time as the company continues to experiment with its tools and assessing their effectiveness.