Half of Facebook users could be fake, says report

January 26, 2019

More than 50 percent of Facebook users are fake according to a report released on Jan. 24.

According to the author, the platform doesn’t have a way to accurately measure its active users to say how many are real.

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A new report released on Thursday, Jan. 24, suggests that over half of active Facebook monthly users are fake.

Although the suggestion comes with an explanation, it’s important to keep in mind that the author was a classmate of Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard, as Mashable notes. The report also comes with a disclosure that reads: “Aaron Greenspan owns FB put options in his personal capacity. He entered into a confidential settlement with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, Inc. in 2009.”

According to Greenspan, the platform’s measurement of its user base isn’t—and will never be—precise enough. Therefore, the metrics they report are overestimated.

“The fact of the matter is that Facebook does not now and will not ever have an accurate way to measure its fake account problem. Accurately assessing whether an account is fake or not is frequently something that a human cannot do with a high degree of certainty, let alone a computer,” reads the report. “Those hoping to abuse Facebook have a plethora of tools at their disposal: endless cheap labor, plentiful SIM cards, proxy servers, and even software such as “Jarvee,” one of dozens of programs that can create realistic fake social media accounts in an automated manner.”

“Taking all of these factors into account, we estimate that 50 percent or more of Facebook’s current MAUs [monthly active users] are actually fake,” it claims.

Facebook, however, denies that Greenspan’s analysis is true in an email to Mashable.

“This is unequivocally wrong and responsible reporting means reporting facts, even if it’s about fake accounts,” a spokesperson wrote.

For more information on Facebook’s fake users (and much more), you can access the full report here.

In other Facebook news…

The social media giant just launched a feature to allow people to engage in politics and social justice. Called Community Actions, it allows people to make petitions via their social media page. The goal is for people to use the feature to call for change by elected officials and government agencies.

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, Facebook also recently revealed they are working on a meme feed called LOL. It’s still in the beginning stages, but we really hope this idea comes to fruition because it sounds amazing.

Plus, Aaron Sorkin recently revealed that there has been back and forth discussion in regards to a sequel to The Social Network. It’s been almost a decade that him and David Fincher released the movie, and apparently, time has come for another.

There have definitely been enough events surrounding Facebook over the last few years to create a sequel. From hacking scandals to the Cambridge Analytica issue, enough Sorkin admits there should be a Social Network 2.

The Social Network hit theaters back in 2010, grossing nearly $225 million globally. Not bad considering the film had a budget of $40 million. The film earned eight Oscar nominations, winning Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing.