Zynga game loses 96,000 players in Facebook fake account sweep

Last month, Facebook has updated its integrity system to automatically detect and delete 'fake' Likes, benefiting both the brands that use the site and the social network's users.

"When a Page and fan connect on Facebook, we want to ensure that connection involves a real person interested in hearing from a specific Page and engaging with that brand's content," said Facebook on its Security Page. "As such, we have recently increased our automated efforts to remove Likes on Pages that may have been gained by means that violate our Facebook Terms."

According to TechCrunch, that process has now begun. As a consequence, some Pages have seen Fan counts drop.

The biggest drop in Fans was for Zynga's Texas Hold'em game, with over 96,000 of its 65 million players gone. Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber and Michael Jackson's Pages all have thousands of casualties.

"On average, less than 1% of Likes on any given Page will be removed, providing they and their affiliates have been abiding by our terms," says Facebook. "While we have always had dedicated protections against each of these threats on Facebook, these improved systems have been specifically configured to identify and take action against suspicious Likes."

Tags: Facebook, fake accounts, fraud, spam