Meta Deletes Over 10 Million Accounts Over Spam, Impersonation

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has removed more than 10 million fake profiles and roughly 500,000 spam accounts in the first half of 2025, as part of a renewed crackdown on impersonation and inauthentic content.

In a blog post released on Monday, the company said the mass takedown targets accounts involved in spam, fake engagement, and impersonation of popular content creators. Meta said the move is part of its broader commitment to improving content quality and supporting original creators.

“We’re making progress,” the company stated. “In the first half of 2025, we took action on around 500,000 accounts engaged in spammy behaviour or fake engagement. We also removed about 10 million profiles impersonating large content producers.”

Meta warned that accounts which largely recycle or repost content without significant edits will face penalties, including reduced reach and loss of monetisation tools. Creators who repeatedly share unoriginal content—whether video, text, or images—risk being deprioritised in feeds and flagged for violations.

To promote authenticity, Meta is introducing new tools that trace reposted content back to its original source, ensuring proper credit and improved visibility for original creators.

“Pages and profiles that post mostly original content tend to enjoy wider distribution,” Meta added. “Simply stitching clips together or adding a watermark will no longer count as meaningful editing. Content that provides real value and tells an authentic story is likely to perform better.”

The company also urged users to avoid uploading material bearing watermarks from other platforms, as such content could face reach limitations or be disqualified from monetisation.

Alongside these efforts, Meta has rolled out post-level insights on the Professional Dashboard, enabling creators to track individual post performance. The Support Home feature also now alerts users to content or earnings restrictions.

In a related development, Google’s YouTube updated its monetisation policies, stating that content deemed overly repetitive or mass-produced will no longer qualify for ad revenue. The move raised initial concern among creators, but YouTube later clarified: “We welcome creators using AI tools to enhance their storytelling, and channels that use AI in their content remain eligible to monetise.”

Both Meta and YouTube say the changes are designed to uphold content quality, protect original creators, and maintain trust in an increasingly competitive digital environment.