This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
Facebook's latest transparency report reveals that the company has removed 5.4 billion fake accounts in 2022, a significant increase from the 3.3 billion removed in 2021.
According to the report, the company took down roughly 3 million pieces of content that violated its policies against selling drugs between April and September.
Additionally, 95,000 pieces of Instagram content related to gun sales were removed, as well as content linked to child exploitation, suicide, self-injury, and terrorist propaganda.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg attributed the high number of removed accounts to the company's increased efforts to identify and remove harmful content.
“Because our numbers are high doesn’t mean there’s that much more harmful content. It just means we’re working harder to identify this content and that’s why it’s higher,” Zuckerberg said.
The report comes as Facebook prepares for a high-stakes election season in the United States and the 2020 census, with analysts and watchdogs anxious over the spread of fake and misleading content on social media.
Facebook is calling on other platforms to make similar disclosures and is taking steps to address the issue of fake accounts and harmful content.
