Meta cracks down on impersonation and spam on Facebook's platform

In the first half of 2025, Meta Platforms, Inc. undertook a massive effort to combat impersonation and spam on Facebook by removing approximately 10 million accounts posing as public figures and content creators. The company identified a rising tide of spam accounts and AI-generated content that flooded social feeds, diminishing user experience and undermining original content creators. In response, Meta implemented new penalties designed to restrict accounts that repeatedly share unoriginal posts without sufficient transformation or permission. This crackdown follows similar moves by other platforms, namely YouTube, which introduced policies aiming at reducing AI-generated spam content. To enhance its content moderation efforts, Meta is significantly investing in artificial intelligence infrastructure, indicating a commitment to deploying cutting-edge detection systems aimed at identifying duplicate and spammy content. The newly announced measures include reduced visibility for spammy content, as well as restrictions on monetization for those accounts persistently infringing on copyright with small, non-meaningful edits. Meta aims to foster a fairer online community where original creators are prioritized, thereby addressing the complaints from legitimate artists about their work being overshadowed. Specifically, the policies highlight that simple actions like adding a watermark or combining two clips do not constitute ''meaningful enhancements'' required to avoid penalties. By enforcing these new guidelines, Meta is also taking steps to protect user experience on its platform, ensuring that users engage with fresh and original works rather than repetitious, low-quality content. Facebook has gone a step further by exploring mechanisms to provide attribution links that connect copied content back to its original creators. These changes underscore a larger trend within the tech industry to enhance content curation and authenticity, especially as AI's role in content generation continues to evolve. As part of this strategic shift, Meta is expected to launch its new AI supercluster, named Prometheus, in 2026. This technology represents a significant leap forward in Meta's quest to improve content moderation and reduce the prevalence of low-quality posts across its social platforms. The company is also actively hiring top-tier AI researchers and engineers to drive innovation in its content filtering systems, reinforcing Meta's position in the increasingly competitive landscape that also includes rival companies like Google and OpenAI. The overarching objective of these initiatives is to not only mitigate the impact of spam and impersonation but also to create a vibrant environment for original content through heightened discovery and visibility of authentic creators.