Facebook Disabled Over 1.3 Billion Fake Accounts Within Three Months

Ahead of being scrutinized by the United States House Energy and Commerce Committee, Facebook has disclosed data on its work in the fight against misinformation on the platform.

Between October and December 2020, Facebook disabled 1.3 billion fake accounts. At the same time, more than 12 million COVID-19 and vaccines-related materials were removed, which were recognized as fake by world health experts. The company has 35,000 employees who work on eliminating misinformation on Facebook every day.

According to Facebook, the company also uses AI algorithms to combat misleading information. They identify networks of profiles exhibiting coordinated suspicious activity. In addition, the company employs 80 independent researchers who review materials in over 60 languages.

“Despite all of these efforts, there are some who believe that we have a financial interest in turning a blind eye to misinformation. The opposite is true. We have every motivation to keep misinformation off of our apps and we’ve taken many steps to do so at the expense of user growth and engagement,” the company said in a statement.

In early February, Facebook expanded the criteria for recognizing fake vaccination information. The company added other topics to the list of fake and misleading materials and conspiracy theories about the coronavirus disease, including those about the artificial origin of COVID-19, the ineffectiveness of vaccines against the diseases they are intended for, the danger and toxicity of drugs, etc.

Facebook says that getting rid of misinformation is a good decision since more people will be able to get the right information on vaccines as well as on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.