Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has intensified its efforts to maintain content integrity on its platform, announcing the removal of more than 10 million fake profiles and 500,000 spam accounts in the first half of 2025.
In a statement released on Monday, the company said the crackdown is part of a broader initiative to curb impersonation, copycat content, and fake engagement measures aimed at boosting originality and ensuring genuine creators gain more visibility.
Meta revealed that a significant portion of the fake profiles removed were impersonating well-known content creators. Accounts that consistently recycle or repost others’ content without permission or meaningful transformation will face serious consequences, including reduced reach on Facebook feeds and loss of access to monetisation tools.
“Repeated sharing of unoriginal content whether videos, photos, or text dilutes the quality of the platform and makes it more difficult for new voices to emerge,” Meta explained.
To better support original creators, Meta is rolling out new features that will link duplicated content back to the original source. This is intended to amplify authentic work and ensure rightful credit is given to the original creators.
In addition, Meta cautioned users against posting watermarked content from other platforms, warning that such behavior could result in reduced distribution or demonetisation.
The company has also enhanced its Professional Dashboard, introducing post-level insights that enable creators to monitor the performance of individual posts. Creators can now use the Support Home screen to check if their content or earnings are at risk of being restricted.
Meanwhile, Google’s YouTube has announced a parallel update to its monetisation policy. The platform will no longer allow revenue generation from mass-produced or overly repetitive content.
The announcement initially caused concern among creators, with some interpreting it as a move against AI-generated content. However, YouTube later clarified that the policy is not directed at creators who use AI tools to enrich their storytelling, but rather those who produce low-effort, duplicate material.
Both Meta and YouTube’s actions signal a growing industry-wide shift towards rewarding originality and protecting authentic content creation.
