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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%.
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.
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
I just ignore those sites, or point out my issues to the admin if I value the site. But most sites I'm on have double or triple login options: native, FB, LinkedIn, etc.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
They believe the internet is so important and have moved their life onto it
Is it possible that this is the result of real life becoming too expensive in some places?
Avantgarde Hebrew science fiction
Does this mean FB will be refunding ad revenue?
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.
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).
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.
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."
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.
My dog has an account. Is this a real or fake account?
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis