Facebook takes down 5.4 billion fake profiles
SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Wednesday said it has taken down some 5.4 billion fake accounts this year in a sign of the persistent battle on social media against manipulation and misinformation.
Amid growing efforts to create fraudulent accounts, Facebook said it has stepped up its defences, often removing the accounts within minutes of their being created.
"We have improved our ability to detect and block attempts to create fake, abusive accounts," the internet firm said in its latest transparency report.
The social network has invested heavily in finding and taking down accounts crafted to deceive people about where information is originating, in particular when spread as part of coordinated campaigns with political or social agendas.
GOVERNMENT REQUESTS
The detailed report also showed that government demands for user information hit a new high, led by the United States. Overall requests by governments for Facebook user data rose 16 per cent to 128,617 in the first half of this year.
"Of the total volume, the US continues to submit the largest number of requests, followed by India, the UK, Germany and France," the report stated.
In the report that, for the first time, included photo and video-oriented social network Instagram, Facebook also highlighted progress tackling terror, hate, suicide, child porn, and drug related posts.
"While we are pleased with this progress, these technologies are not perfect and we know that mistakes can still happen," it said.
"That's why we continue to invest in systems that enable us to improve our accuracy in removing content that violates our policies while safeguarding content that discusses or condemns hate speech." - AFP
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