Meta Axes 10M Profiles to Combat 'Spammy Content'

Tech giant Meta said Monday that it removed about 10 million profiles for impersonating large content creators as part of a broader effort to combat "spammy content."

The company's crackdown on unoriginal content is designed to make the Facebook feed more relevant and authentic by taking action against accounts that engage in spam or fake engagement.

"We believe that creators should be celebrated for their unique voices and perspectives, not drowned out by copycats and impersonators," Meta said in a blog post.

To that end, the company announced it has applied measures that range from demoting spam accounts' comments and throttling the distribution of their content, to blocking their attempts to monetize.

"In addition, if our systems detect duplicate videos on Facebook, we will reduce the distribution of the copies so that original creators can get the visibility that they deserve," Meta's blog post said. "We're also exploring ways to provide proper attribution to creators. For example, we're testing adding links on duplicate videos that point viewers to the original piece of content."

Meta defines unoriginal content as content that "reuses or repurposes" another creator's images or video "repeatedly" without crediting them.

In its post, Meta offered several best practice suggestions to ensure that content is "set up for success on Facebook":

• Post original content.
• Make content your own through the use of meaningful enhancements, such as creative editing, voiceover or commentary.
• Tell an authentic story, avoiding supershort videos that offer little value.
• Avoid using content with visible third-party watermarks.
• Use relevant content captions.

The changes will be rolled out gradually in the coming months, the company said, "to help ensure a seamless transition for creators."

The action against unoriginal content and spam comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Monday the company's plans to increase its investment in artificial intelligence. According to CNBC, Zuckerberg said Meta will spend "hundreds of billions of dollars" to build the company's first AI supercluster in 2026.