Meta Removes Over 10 Million Fake Profiles in Crackdown on Inauthentic Content

Babatunji Wusu –

• Meta removed more than 10 million fake profiles and 500,000 spam accounts in the first half of 2025.
• The crackdown targets impersonation, fake engagement, and content duplication to prioritize original creators.
• Accounts reposting content without permission or meaningful edits face reduced reach and loss of monetization.
• New tools trace reposted content to original sources, boosting authentic creators’ visibility.
• Meta warns against content with watermarks from other platforms, which may lead to penalties.
• Introduced post-level insights on the Professional Dashboard for creators to monitor content performance.
• YouTube updated monetization rules to exclude mass-produced or repetitive content but supports AI-assisted creation.
• Both companies aim to improve content quality and protect genuine creators amid rising competition.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has intensified efforts to eliminate inauthentic behavior on its platforms, removing over 10 million fake profiles and approximately 500,000 spam accounts during the first six months of 2025. This campaign targets impersonation, fake engagement, and content duplication to elevate original creators and improve content quality.

Accounts found reposting or recycling content without meaningful edits or permission will face penalties such as reduced reach and loss of monetization privileges. Meta has introduced tools to trace reposted content back to its source, ensuring authentic creators receive proper credit and wider distribution.

The company also cautions against uploading content bearing watermarks from other platforms, as this may trigger reduced visibility or monetization restrictions.

To support creators, Meta launched post-level insights on its Professional Dashboard, allowing detailed performance tracking, along with a Support Home screen indicating any content or earnings limitations.

In a related development, YouTube updated its monetization guidelines to exclude channels producing mass-produced or repetitive content but clarified that creators using AI tools for storytelling remain eligible for monetization.

Both Meta and YouTube emphasize these measures as steps to raise content standards and safeguard creators in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.