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9.6% of Facebook's Users 'May Be Fakes' (nytimes.com)
An anonymous reader quotes the New York Times:
Facebook estimates that about 200 million of its more than 2.07 billion users may be fakes... [Non-paywalled article here.] Colin Stretch, the general counsel of Facebook, told the Senate Intelligence Committee the company was doubling its review staff to 20,000 and using artificial intelligence to find more "bad actors"... Sean Edgett, Twitter's general counsel, testified before Congress that about 5 percent of its 330 million users are "false accounts or spam," which would add up to more than 16 million fakes.
Independent experts say the real numbers are far higher. On Twitter, little more than an email address is needed to start tweeting. Facebook's requirement that users be their authentic selves means the company asks for a smattering of information to sign up -- name, birthday, gender and email address. But few checks exist to verify if that information is true when a user signs up.
Independent experts say the real numbers are far higher. On Twitter, little more than an email address is needed to start tweeting. Facebook's requirement that users be their authentic selves means the company asks for a smattering of information to sign up -- name, birthday, gender and email address. But few checks exist to verify if that information is true when a user signs up.
You need to maintain a pretty good sized stable to reply to each other's posts and self-validate.
Spammers, Trolls, People who make sock puppet accounts.... there's tons of semi-fake accounts out there. I'd bet on 50%.
I have over 100. I know of a guy with over 1,000.
Definitely "Fakebook" . . . yeah, Zuckerberg's Gestapo crew will now be after me, but, when push comes to shove . . . (Especially since he will probably be the President of the USA real soon),
"Fakebook" is an appropriate name for his business. Just ask Russia what the costs are.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
And every one of them developers who just wanted access to the API to satisfy their stupid customers.
Really? I need a front-end account to access the API? OK, fake identity it is then.
They don't get it.
There are roughly 7.6 billion people on the planet, and about 1/4 of them use facebook?
I'm guessing there are well north of 200 million fakes.
It makes more sense than someone cloning my friends, giving them the same name, and trying to friend me to sell me insurance.
And none of them have posted on facebook in over 5 years.
I have one account- created after where I saw facebook was headed that has no pictures and I only follow one subject. Yet- it's already suggested real life friends among the people who 'might' be my friends.
It's fucking creepy.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
Independent experts say the real numbers are far higher.
Well, yes. Of course.
Signing up is free. None of the information provided can be validated. There is nothing to connect an account to an actual, living person (presidents excluded).
All those websites that force you to sign up with a FB or twitter account - they all get different, new, accounts so as not to get "interbreeding" between sites that have no business knowing about each other.
While apps like Whatsapp are actually useful and don't ask for anything (though obviously it has a phone number, and a name that may or may not be authentic), none of the social media websites provide anything of value, yet abuse what data they are given. So they don't get any. I would suggest that at least the top half of all their users: those people who don't refer to the internet as "wifi", have just one single email account or have passwords in the top 20 most easily cracked, understand this and have nothing much that identifies them on social media.
For the rest, that's what happens when you dabble in things you don't understand.
But at least the effects aren't as severe as ignorantly investing in that "sure thing" stock.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
I'm not surprised considering how many people seem to have multiple accounts. And I can't blame them for having them since showing any interest in anything controversial tends to result in friends eventually hiding you from their feeds. Too bad facebook cares so much more about the ad revenues from spamming peoples' feeds with what friends reacted to instead of letting people only broadcast what they post.
Nah, I have a fake account because some websites have a Facebook integrated comments section. Yes, I do have an overriding need to throw out my 2 cents like every other self important prick on the internet, but I don't want spam in my regular inbox or identity thieves connecting the dots in my life, so sue me. If websites didn't use Facebook and had a more traditional comments system I'd still sign up with a pseudonym and a throwaway email address.
This need to identify yourself online, and the whole "you're a coward for not attaching your real life identity to what you say online" sentiment... Where does it come from? Old people who don't understand basic security measures online? AOLers who think they're in some safe walled garden? Actual retards?
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
Some are robots, some are just fake people.
I have a profile with my real name, but everything on there is false info, fake friends, fake pictures, fake likes, fake affiliations, fake posts. But it's all consistent. I just want to see what happens.
Twinstiq, game news
Does this mean FB will be refunding ad revenue?
All in the name of "extremism" or "muh Russia" or whatever argument is the current flavor of the month.
Hey, I know, let's create a new entity that serves as a gatekeeper for all major online sites. What could go wrong? Let's just hope you're ideologically pure enough or you'll get banned everywhere in one easy click.
An entire small town's worth of people thought-policing the internet? (well only facebook technically, but considering how much of the world's communications travel through facebook...)
9.6%? That explain why around 10% of the users seem to have a brain!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I can't imagine why the count of reviewers would be spoken about in the same article as the fakes. The reviewers are obviously not there to address the fakes problem. There would have to be a lot more of them than 20,000. Perhaps that's just the number of people tweaking the AI system.
Who are these review staff? 20,000 and yet nobody i have ever met in 20years of dev work has ever met or spoken to any of them.
bullshit seems to be facebooks speciality
100% are flakes.
Facebook is for idiots.
Does anybody believe the act this phony puts on? He is clearly a misanthrope and all the Facebook users are his test subjects.
See subject: Might as well elect Howdy Doody or Alfred Neumann of Mad Magazine for President instead... lol! Seriously - it'd be a HUGE EMBARASSMENT for the USA!
* Dude - yes, I know it's Saturday night, but I must ask - HOW MUCH DID YOU DRINK to say that lunacy?
(He has ZERO personal presence... none!)
APK
P.S.=> He could THROW MONEY @ election for a century & not win - he'd be better served (by far) spending it on plastic surgery + steroids @ least to improve his looks (head transplant, brain too, lmao)... apk
The filter makers know all about Bart's calls to Moe's Tavern.
No way it's less than 20%. I suspect it's pushing 30% actually.
You forgot Friendface as shown in IT Crowd many years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... ;)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
You forgot "FaceFuck" or "FaceFucked"...
I can confirm that my cat is pretty real and therefore not in the 9.6%. I don't have a facebook account myself, so that doesn't count as fake either.
It would not accept the name of my cat either. I had to be creative with the spelling of his name and his age, but he now has an account to share holiday pictures. (I don't have facebook myself)
I would not use real data to open such an account. That does not make the account fake, just inaccurate. Calling it fake is just to add drama and justify their big brother demand for our personal data. I think you have got to be insane to publish all your personal data in the open for someone else to make profit from.
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
I'll see your 9.6 and bet you an additional 20.
See subject & see my last post. He doesn't have "leadership charisma" + is a known thief of the winklevoss twins' work.
E.G. - It was bad enough when Obama won - but @ least that guy had presence & could do speeches well & Obama wasn't ugly face-wise.
* However, iirc, @ the UN one day Putin & Obama were in the gym working out & Putin was ribbing on Obama (guy was a puny stick even vs. OLD MAN Putin (who is still to this day a pretty good athlete))!
* No - The USA won't have that going on (period)... & yes, that kind of thing MATTERS (as to who represents you - an "all-around" electic man is necessary).
Take Trump - he's what? 6' 4" & pretty big @ least by comparison for certain to Zuckerberg. There's a correlation between height & leadership you know (a psychological edge results in it alone "looking down" @ opponents etc.).
APK
P.S.=> People like Zuckerberg? They don't win the hearts & minds of the people (whimps & total nerds, especially thieving ones, never get respect) - in other words, no "President Punk/Pussy" allowed - you as the people won't feel PRIDE in them representing you... apk
I think that number is much, much, higher. Throw in derelict accounts (like mine!) and their user base is MUCH smaller than they claim. I think Twitter's footprint is probably a little more realistic. Everything about social media is a lie.
I get friend requests every week from stock photography models who just want a good man to start a family with! If they're fake, my whole world view will come crashing down!
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Exactly.
It would be the wildest stroke of luck if only 200 million Facebook users are fake. They will be lucky if half of their users are real.
That still leaves 70.4% actual morons on Facebook.
Read 'em and weep!
My dog has an account. Is this a real or fake account?
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis