Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has launched its most aggressive campaign yet against fake engagement and online scams, removing over 100 million fake Facebook Pages and tens of millions of impersonator profiles in 2024 alone. The sweeping action is part of Meta’s renewed effort to restore authenticity and trust on its platforms, responding to growing concerns over spam, impersonation, and cybercrime.
Meta’s latest crackdown targets spam networks that coordinate fake engagement, such as scripted comments, excessive hashtags, and irrelevant captions, designed to artificially boost content reach and monetization. Accounts using these tactics now face reduced visibility and are barred from earning money through Facebook’s monetization programs.
“We are committed to making Facebook’s Feed more relevant and helping creators break through,” Meta said in a statement. “Too many spammy content are crowding out authentic creators and hurting the Facebook experience”.
To further clean up the platform, Meta is testing new features that allow users to flag disruptive or irrelevant comments, aiming to foster more meaningful interactions. The company is also enhancing its comment moderation tools, enabling creators to auto-hide comments from suspected fake accounts and report impersonators directly from comment sections.
Impersonation remains a critical concern, especially for creators with large followings. In 2024, Meta removed more than 23 million profiles pretending to be content creators. The company is investing in advanced tools to detect and block these impersonators, further protecting users and creators from abuse.
In a related effort, Meta has taken down about 63,000 Instagram accounts registered in Nigeria linked to sextortion scams, where criminals use fake profiles to extort victims with compromising photos. These scams, often coordinated by groups operating thousands of accounts, have targeted both adults and children, sometimes with tragic consequences.
Meta also removed over 7,000 Facebook accounts, pages, and groups in Nigeria that were providing tips and manuals for conducting such scams. The company says most attempts were unsuccessful, but the rise in sextortion has increased pressure on social platforms to act decisively.
Beyond removals, Meta is upgrading its Rights Manager tool to help creators protect their intellectual property and is providing more guidance to support original content. Accounts that attempt to manipulate the algorithm or flood feeds with low-quality content will face further penalties, including limited reach and exclusion from monetization.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has signaled a commitment to what he calls “OG Facebook,” promising users a feed filled with authentic, engaging posts from real people, not spam or scams.
The company says it will keep investing in technology and moderation to ensure a safer, more rewarding experience for all users.
