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9.6% of Facebook's Users 'May Be Fakes' (nytimes.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the click-'Like'-if-you're-real dept.

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.

5 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. Way more than that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Spammers, Trolls, People who make sock puppet accounts.... there's tons of semi-fake accounts out there. I'd bet on 50%.

  2. I'm fake multiple times by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.
  3. Mine is by HalAtWork · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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
  4. Re:Fakebook . . . ? by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 3, Interesting

    FecesBook - people posting their random crap that no one gives a shit about
    FazeBook - yet-another-social-media-site
    FarceBook - more bullshit news then real news
    FailBook - more failed virtual relations then real ones
    FuckBook - your privacy is fucked over for profit

  5. Number too low. by Narcocide · · Score: 3, Interesting

    No way it's less than 20%. I suspect it's pushing 30% actually.