Fake Facebook accounts

The main articles are:

• Facebook
• How Facebook collects and sells user data
• Facebook ads
• Facebook audience
• Fake (fake) news (fake news)

2022: Meta shut down two networks of fake accounts carrying out covert influence campaigns from Russia and China

Meta (recognized RUSSIAN FEDERATION extremist by the organization, its activities are prohibited in the territory) Russia announced that it had closed 2 networks of fake accounts engaged in "secret influence distribution operations" in and. China Russia This became known on September 27, 2022.

The network consisted of more than 60 websites posing as news organizations, as well as social media accounts. Through them were promoted "pro-Kremlin stories about the situation in Ukraine." According to the Meta, the campaign spent more than $100 thousand on advertising on Facebook and Instagram (they belong to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation).

The Chinese network was small, supposedly Americans talked about divisive domestic problems such as abortion and gun control..

Meta * did not attribute any campaign to specific organizations in China or Russia or the governments of the countries^[1]

2021

Meta blocked the accounts of spies for hire, tracking 50 thousand users on Facebook

On December 17, 2021, it was reported that Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook, defused hundreds of accounts on Facebook and Instagram platforms operated by a number of companies providing spying for hire services. As reported, more than 50 thousand people suffered from the actions of companies in total.

The list of "blocked" companies includes the Israeli Cobwebs, Cognyte, Black Cube and Bluehawk CI, the Indian BelltroX, Cytrox (), North Macedonia as well as one unnamed firm in China the development for software espionage and. face recognition Facebook specialists did not provide details about the company itself, but indicated that it ON was used by Chinese law enforcement agencies.

According to Meta, the methods used included using links to phishing sites to collect credentials and then infect users' devices with malware.

According to Meta, journalists, dissidents, critics of authoritarian regimes, human rights activists and their families have become targets of surveillance. In total, the company has blocked more than 1.5 thousand fake accounts managed by the above organizations, which were used to attack more than 50 thousand users in 100 countries.

A spokeswoman for Meta said the company passed on the information to law enforcement and security researchers and sent six of the seven organizations cease-and-desist letters as a final warning.

In October 2019, a Meta-owned company WhatsApp sued an Israeli manufacturer of hacking tools, NSO Group accusing him of complicity in hacks carried out in the interests of governments in 20 countries, including in, and To Mexico. UAE Bahrain According to the lawsuit, more than a hundred members of civil society were victims of the hacks.^[2] the^[3]

Facebook provides incorrect data to scientists who studied the spread of disinformation

Researchers who studied the spread of misinformation on Facebook lost months of work due to the fact that the company provided them with incorrect information about user interaction with posts and links on the platform. Information about this appeared on September 13, 2021.

For several years, Facebook has been providing scientists with access to its data to track the spread of misinformation on social networks. The company promised to provide researchers with access to all data on user interaction, but, according to The New York Times, the information provided by Facebook included information about only about half of users in the United States.

In a letter to researchers at the disposal of The Times, Facebook apologized for the inconvenience and noted that it was working to fix the problem, but this could take weeks due to the large amount of data that needs to be processed. The company also noted that data on users outside the United States are correct.

The data error was discovered by a researcher from the Italian University of Urbino, who compared a report published by Facebook in August with data that was provided exclusively to researchers. Both sets did not match.

According to Facebook spokesman Mavis Jones, the problem was caused by a "technical error," and the company has already informed the affected partners.

The Aug. 18 report, which Facebook released as part of a "transparency" policy and referenced by the researcher, contained data on the most viewed content on Facebook's news feed between April and June 2021. Facebook delayed publication of the report because it portrayed the company in an unfavorable light. However, Facebook did later post it.

Some researchers used their own tools to collect data on the platform, but in at least one case, Facebook blocked access to information, writes Engadget. In particular, in August, the company disabled the accounts of researchers from the Ad Observatory project at New York University. Scientists used a browser extension to collect data on political advertising, but Facebook considered it "unauthorized scraping." According to the chief investigator of the project, Laura Edelson, Facebook revoked the team's access because its work "often draws attention to problems on the platform."^[4]

Facebook removed almost 300 accounts from Russia for misinformation about Western vaccines

Facebook removed 65 Russian accounts from its social network of the same name, as well as 243 Russian accounts from Instagram. Information about this appeared on August 11, 2021.

According to Facebook, a network of accounts has been removed that distributed memes from Russia on which people turned into chimpanzees after being vaccinated against COVID-19, seeking to undermine confidence in popular Western-made vaccines.

In particular, according to Facebook, Fazze used the platform to work for audiences in India, Latin America and to a lesser extent in the United States. During the investigation, Facebook experts found that as part of a disinformation campaign, Fazze created articles and petitions on forums such as Reddit, Medium and Change.org. To distribute content, the company used fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

The campaign to discredit Western vaccines consisted of two waves "separated by five months of inaction," according to Facebook.

"In November and December 2020, the network posted memes and comments claiming that AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine could turn people into chimpanzees. Five months later, in May 2021, the network questioned the safety of the Pfizer vaccine by publishing a document allegedly appearing due to a leak at AstraZeneca, "Facebook said.

Representatives of Fazze, among other things, attracted bloggers to work, offering to distribute information about vaccines to them. In particular, bloggers from France and Germany drew public attention to such proposals from Fazze, noted on Facebook. A 12-page document was also published comparing the effectiveness of various vaccines against COVID-19. It was claimed it emerged from a leak from AstraZeneca. The document included a table that showed that Pfizer's vaccine use resulted in more casualties than the use of other drugs.

Facebook regularly deletes accounts that violate company rules. For this, she was repeatedly criticized by the authorities of the individual. countries The most high-profile such case was the blocking of the accounts of the former president USA Donald Trump after storming his Capitol on January 6.^[5]

Facebook will tighten measures against disinformation distributors

On May 27, 2021, it became known that Facebook intends to inform users in the future when they interact with fake content, as well as take tougher measures against people who repeatedly spread misinformation.

"Whether it's false or misleading content about coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and vaccines, climate change, elections or other topics, we're making sure fewer people see misinformation in our apps. We will reduce the distribution of all news feed posts from a Facebook account if they repeatedly share content that has been evaluated by one of our fact-checking partners, "the Facebook post said.

The tech giant also intends to launch a tool that alerts users when they interact with fake material. The notice includes an article refuting misinformation, as well as an offer to share the article with its subscribers. In addition, posts by users constantly sharing false information will drop lower in the news feed so that other people are less likely to see them.^[6]

2020: Large-scale de-anonymization on Facebook

• In May 2020, it is known that the social network intends to establish the identities of users whose messages are quickly becoming popular. In relation to anonymous accounts, tough measures will be taken and everything in order to reduce the audience for those who refused to provide documents or indicated incorrect data about themselves.
• This is stated in a statement published on May 28 on the blog of the social network^[7]. The document states that the Facebook administration is trying to stop the posting of materials on the social network using specialized programs, as well as persons who impersonate other people.
• Facebook specialists will identify account owners in cases where there is reason to believe that accounts are managed automatically, as well as in situations where "messages are quickly gaining popularity in the United States."

"We want people to know exactly who is behind the publication of the content they see on Facebook, this is especially important when it comes to content with a large audience reach," said representatives of the social network.

The account is blocked until you confirm your identity - you will not send a photo, license or passport.

"You can't use your Facebook account because you don't comply with community guidelines. If you think your account was blocked in error, here are some steps to take. In order to establish that this account belongs to you, we need a snapshot of your ID. It can be a driver's license, passport or any other official document. If there are any difficulties with this, we will send you an e-mail. When you provide us with a copy of your ID, we will keep it for at least 30 days, but not more than one year. This will help the system automatically identify fake IDs better, "reads a message that appears when entering.

2019

Blocking 6.6 billion fake Facebook accounts

In early March 2020, Facebook spoke about the results of its Deep Entity Classification AI system, which allows you to recognize and block fake accounts. Thanks to this technology, 6.6 billion fake accounts were removed from the social network in 2019 alone. Read more here.

16% of Facebook accounts - fakes and duplicates

16% of Facebook accounts - fakes and duplicates

In 2015, there were fewer than 7%. In 2016, it became 7%, then 13-15% and already 16% in 2018-2019. For the most part, these are just duplicates, but there are 5% of pure fakes. Data from Facebook itself.

2017

Facebook admits for the first time the problem of manipulating opinion through fake profiles

Facebook first recognized in the spring of 2017 the fact that various "non-governmental agents," as well as power structures, use the social network to influence the minds of users. Facebook is a tool in their hands to form a certain opinion in society on a number of political issues^[8]

Such data are contained in the report of the company's department, which is responsible for security. In particular, we are talking about creating fake profiles through which false information spreads on the social network in order to "form a certain vision of the situation." In the French-speaking segment, 30 thousand such profiles have already been identified. Facebook promised that it would fight such actions.

We will remind, earlier the founder of the social network Mark Zuckerberg presented a plan to combat Facebook with fake news published by users. After the scandal that erupted in the spring of 2016, the social network made significant changes to the selection mechanism for the most discussed news. This is to reduce the degree of human interference in the process and to avoid accusations of bias. The trending mechanism will now be automated.

In March 2017, the social network began labeling news that users considered unreliable. A special icon appears next to such notes. It means that the information provided raises serious doubts. Users who notice a "fake" message in the news feed click on one of the areas of the post. So they express their opinion on suspicious information. Then the news is checked by experts from special sites and companies. It can take several days between the publication and the results of the audit. If the information is considered unreliable, then a Krasny Kvadrat sign will appear above the message.

USA Today asks FBI to investigate fake Facebook accounts

The USA Today newspaper, which suffers from an abundance of fake accounts among its Facebook followers, asked the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate this situation in the spring of 2017. Shortly before that, Facebook carried out a major purge of the social network, removing many accounts that did not have real users behind them. USA Today reports that it lost about a third of its subscribers after that. Earlier, the newspaper's page had 15.2 million likes, after cleaning them, 9.5 million^[9] will^[10]

The other day, Facebook told USA Today that suspicious activity related to its page continues on the social network. The newspaper remains the main target of spammers creating fake accounts - it attracts about 1 thousand such "subscribers" per day. Facebook informed USA Today that it could remove about 3 million more likes from its page. After that, the Gannett Company media holding, the parent company of the newspaper, decided to contact the FBI. It is not yet known whether the bureau will agree to investigate.

According to Shabnam Shaik, head of Facebook's technical program, no other publication of a journalistic nature is subjected to such a massive offensive by spammers. USA Today can't say for sure exactly why she was the target of the attack. The social network also cannot understand the reasons for what is happening. For comparison: during the April purge, the famous British edition of The Guardian lost only 20 thousand subscribers who turned out to be false. While USA Today and related publications lost a total of 12 million likes. USA Today is the first national daily newspaper in the United States, founded in 1982. The daily paper circulation is 959,000 copies, the daily number of readers is about 7 million.

Creating "inauthentic" accounts that like media pages to spread spam and false information is a common practice of spammers. Spammers subscribe to publications to make "empty" accounts look safer when they contact real users.

2012

80% of all clicks on Facebook ads turned out to be fake

The Internet company Limited Run published in the summer of 2012 on the Web its report on the use of the advertising platform of the world's largest social network Facebook to promote its own business, in which it criticized Facebook advertising for the abundance of fake clicks and too high prices.

The company briefly had its own corporate Facebook page called Limited Pressing, Limited Run officials said. Limited Run operates its own web service, which allows representatives of the music industry in the person of independent labels, musicians, composers and performers to create and post their own online stores on the Web for sale to users of music content and physical goods.

Limited Run later decided to rename its page, changing its name from Limited Pressing to its own brand. However, it turned out that the social network would only allow the company to do this if it agreed to buy ads on Facebook. "They said they would allow us to change our name. But only if we agree to spend $2,000 or more on advertising every month. That's right. Facebook blackmailed us with our own brand, "representatives of Limited Run say.

However, the main conclusion of Limited Run's experiments with Facebook advertising campaigns was the fact that most clicks on ads on the social network were made by bots, not real users. According to the company's estimates, only about 20% of all clicks paid by the advertiser were real. Thus, the remaining about 80% of clicks were made by bots.

"That's right. Bots uploaded our page and raised the cost of advertising on the site. We have attempted to contact the Facebook administration on this matter. Unfortunately, they did not respond to us. Do we know who owns these bots? No. Do we accuse Facebook of using bots to boost its online advertising revenue? No. Do we find this strange? Yes, "- said representatives of Limited Run

As a result, the company decided to stop using the Facebook page to promote its business and instead actively use microblog on Twitter for these purposes.

Facebook representatives have already commented on the report, saying they are investigating claims of a large number of fake clicks. "We are now investigating these claims. As for the issue of changing the name of the company's page, there was probably some misunderstanding here. We take no money to change the page name. Now we are trying to figure it out, "said Facebook's communications manager.

Facebook admitted to millions of fake accounts

Facebook, in its new report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, revealed some details about its service's audience in the summer of 2012. According to the report, which was the first for the social network in the status of a public company, today the number of monthly active Facebook users is 955 million. Of these, 543 million are active mobile users. At the same time, 102 million people, or almost 20% of all active Facebook users, in June 2012 received access to the social network exclusively through mobile devices.

One of the most interesting indicators in the company's report was an estimate of the number of fake user accounts on the service. According to Facebook, the site now has 8.7% of fake user profiles or about 83.09 million accounts.

According to analysts, the new data indicate a strong jump, both in percentage terms and in estimated numbers compared to previous official data from Facebook. So, in March, the social network reported that, according to its estimates, from 5% to 6% of user profiles are fake or duplicate real ones - that is, from 42.25 million to 50.7 million.

According to experts, the reason for such a significant increase in just a few months is a change in the approach to counting fake accounts by the social network. If earlier the site administration took into account only accounts that duplicate real ones (such in June of this year turned out to be 4.8%) and fake profiles, now accounts with incorrectly indicated data and accounts of unwanted personalities have also been added to them. Unwanted personalities mean those people who register real accounts, but do so with the intention of using them for purposes that violate the terms of use of the social network.

However, independent experts note that even the figure of 8.7% percent of fake Facebook profiles was noticeably underestimated by the administration of the social network: in reality, it can be twice as much.

See also

• Fake news

Notes