Facebook is currently the playground of many viral social media accounts on the internet. The big social media platform announced on May 28 that it will now start requiring people with "high reach" to verify their identity.
According to The Verge's report, Facebook wants to make sure that users see more authentic posts and social media content, instead of ones from users concealing their identity or even bots.
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Facebook Will Start Verifying Viral Accounts' Identities To Ensure Its Users See Authentic Posts
A similar move was also done by the social media platform two years ago, requiring viral page owners to disclose their locations and identities. The change of Facebook in 2018 focused on numerous overseas accounts of content farms using partisan United States politics to go viral, cashing in on ad revenue, and manipulating the algorithms of Facebook.
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Facebook will start verifying viral accounts' identities to ensure its users see authentic posts
According to The Verge's 2018 report, the Facebook advertisers who want to promote their views on abortion, Second Amendment rights, and other key political issues were required to provide their real identity and location. Facebook confirmed that these "issue ads" will also be labeled as "political ads" on the platform. The move will also verify the information of the people or companies that are paying the accounts of the Facebook advertisers.
Facebook Will Start Verifying Viral Accounts' Identities To Ensure Its Users See Authentic Posts
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The company confirmed that it will be using actual humans as well as artificial intelligence (AI) to identify the advertisers that need to be verified and labeled. Facebook also stated that its users can report the ads that they think are political in nature and need verification.
It was also clarified that managers of large pages are also required to provide their identities, just like the other advertisers. They have to disclose where they live and who they are. Facebook claimed that the move will lessen the fake Pages that are going viral.
According to The Verge, a form of ID will be required by Facebook from accounts on the social network that keep going viral, exhibiting inauthentic behaviors on their posts.
Facebook will reduce the distribution of the account's viral posts, and also the number of users who see the account pop up in their feed if the ID provided doesn't match their real identity or if they decline to provide any ID for the verification.
