

Removing Fake Likes  - ashishgandhi
https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-security/improvements-to-our-site-integrity-systems/10151005934870766

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AgentConundrum
> _These newly improved automated efforts will remove those Likes gained by
> malware, compromised accounts, deceived users, or purchased bulk Likes._

What about ransom Likes? The ones that happen when a user tries to interact
with a site, only to be presented with "Like us on Facebook to see this
content!" messages. Those don't fit into any category listed above, but it's
hardly an honest reflection of the relationship the user has with a brand.

~~~
chii
i dont understand how they could verify that the user clicked on the like
button - does facebook have some sort of callback api that allows the
developer who wishes to embed a like into their app to know about users
clicking on the like button?

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diego
"A Like that doesn't come from someone truly interested in connecting with a
Page benefits no one."

That is clearly untrue. If that were the case, fake Likes would not be a
problem.

~~~
dchichkov
Ignore it. This is just PR. Not even good one too... But what would you do?
They had to react somehow on that investigation from BBC news.

~~~
alecco
Link... <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18819338>

And the update today <http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19462661>

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jameswyse
I find it funny that any time facebook post some news there will be hundreds
of idiots posting their facebook tech support questions as comments. As if
they'll ever be answered.

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matznerd
I noticed that too, I imagine there is a lot of pent up demand for support and
for people looking for an avenue to voice their complaints.

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23david
"On average, less than 1% of Likes on any given Page will be removed"

Since this 'likefraud' is concentrated on branded/corporate accounts,
shouldn't Facebook disclose the average impact to likes on these important
pages? Or at least break down the impact of the fraud on a more granular
basis.

The way that Facebook is handling this situation seems evasive and they are
clearly trying to soften the PR blow here and spin things so they don't sound
so bad. With reports coming out of major advertisers seeing over 10% of their
likes disappearing, the Facebook team should really publicly address those
cases, even if they are not the 'average.'

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matznerd
Is this only for fake likes going forward, or are they going to be
retroactively be removing fake friends?

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X-Istence
They already active remove fake accounts. I've had some of my fake accounts
closed down. In my case they were only fake because a service required I log-
in with Facebook, and I don't want everything and anything associated with my
main facebook account.

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MichaelApproved
How do you think they identified your account as fake?

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X-Istence
I honestly don't know. What I do know is that the account was associated only
with an email, and the only activity was the site or app I wanted to approve.
I didn't add friends, and didn't accept friend requests.

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mparlane
You didn't add friends is why... And I assume you accessed it from the same ip
as your real one?

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X-Istence
That's the thing though, I don't want to add friends. This is a fake account,
it has no real friends. Facebook says they value the social experience of
connecting with real friends ...

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lucian1900
Then perhaps you need two different mechanisms for "bookmark" and "like"?

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ChrisNorstrom
I'm actually testing a theory of the benefits of fake share counts on one of
site's right now:

<http://TimeForZen.com> (look at the social widgets up top)

ALL of the share counts for the social widgets are fake. I made them up. I
want to see if having high share counts will create a bandwagon effect and
encourage more people to share, or if it will keep people on the site longer
due to a higher perceived usefulness.

So far it's not doing anything for me due to low traffic, I'll have to run the
experiment with some other sites.

~~~
redslazer
I did some testing with a client recently (small local business with
relatively high customer engagement and satisfaction) and the difference in
people willing to press a like button is substantial between 0-100 but stops
mattering afterwards.

