Facebook issues statement over emerging fake accounts, encourages 'people to continue reporting'

After an alarming number of emergence of fake accounts on Facebook on Sunday, the social media platform issued an official statement regarding the issue.

"We understand the concerns raised by our community in the Philippines. We're investigating reports of suspicious activity on our platform and taking action on any accounts that we find to be in violation of our policies," Facebook company spokesperson said in a statement released to GMA News Online via email.

Facebook is encouraging "people to continue reporting any accounts they believe may be inauthentic."

The social media platform is working to validate the authenticity of these accounts and should the accounts fail to pass through authenticity checks, the accounts will be removed.

Facebook has invested to deploy a sophisticated technology which can proactively identify and remove such fake accounts from their platform.

Outlined in the Community Standards Enforcement Report released last month, the social media platform has removed 1.7 billion fake accounts from Facebook globally in the first quarter of 2020 alone.

99.7 percent of that number were proactively removed and identified through the technology before anyone reported its inauthenticity to them.

Facebook has also removed millions of attempts to create fake accounts which was blocked at the time of its creation.

How to remove and report inauthentic accounts on Facebook

According to Facebook, "accounts and Pages that impersonate other people go against our Community Standards and aren't allowed" on the platform.

To report, search the name used on the profile or page or ask your friends to find it, and then click on the three dotted icon on the cover photo.

If you're reporting a profile select Find Support or Report profile then follow the on-screen instructions for impersonation to file a report.

Meanwhile, if you don't have a Facebook account but someone is using your name for an account, you can fill out this form.

If you want to know who created a fake account after your name, Facebook said "you should first contact a lawyer or your local law enforcement agency and discuss this issue with them."

Should you decide to pursue legal action, the lawyer or the officer can review Facebook's operational guidelines by following the instructions listed.

"Once they contact us, we'll be able to communicate with them regarding this issue. Please be aware that there are situations where we may be unable to retrieve the information you have requested due to technical limitations," Facebook said. — LA, GMA News