Facebook has officially acknowledged that 13% of its accounts are not legitimate users. During their third-quarter earnings report, where they announced $10.3 billion in revenue and 2.07 billion monthly users, the company revealed some concerning statistics about their user base.

The breakdown of non-legitimate accounts includes:

• 10% duplicate accounts (approximately 207 million)
• 2-3% misclassified and undesirable accounts (up to 60 million)

These fake accounts consist of:

• Business profiles that should be pages
• Malicious accounts created for spamming
• Prohibited activity accounts

Facebook attributes the surge in fake users to "episodic spikes" from countries like Vietnam and Indonesia. The company recently implemented a new methodology for identifying duplicate accounts, which has led to more accurate data signals and improved tools for advertisers.

In response, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has committed to investing in enhanced security measures, despite potential impacts on profitability. "We're investing so much in security that it will impact our profitability. I am dead serious about this," Zuckerberg stated.

This revelation has attracted attention from U.S. lawmakers, particularly in light of concerns about Russian-backed advertisements on the platform. Democratic senators are pushing Facebook to identify and notify users who were exposed to such content.

The impact of these fake accounts extends beyond advertising metrics, affecting engagement rates and overall platform reliability. Facebook continues to work on solutions to address this growing challenge while maintaining transparency with its stakeholders.

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