The BBC today revealed that Facebook’s estimates of the number of ‘fake’ users currently active on the site may be significantly higher than it first expected.
Earlier this year, the social network divulged that around 5-6%, that’s 54 million, of its users were ‘fake’, but Facebook themselves have revealed that the correct figure currently stands at a whopping 83 million (8.7%). It has also been revealed that 1 in 20 Facebook accounts are duplicates of real profiles, scary stuff!
It is common knowledge that Facebook’s business model revolves around the use of targeted advertising, which will now fall under serious scrutiny, particularly as digital distribution firm Limited Press has revealed that, according to their analytics, 80% of clicks on Facebook advertisements had come from fake accounts. The full article from the BBC can be found here.
Given that Facebook’s current rates on advertising are based on each individual advert’s CPC (click-through rate), it will be interesting to follow whether stories of the social network deliberately attempting to drive up advertising revenue emerge.
The impact this news has on Facebook, as well as the social network’s plans to combat their fake users, remains to be seen, but surely today’s news has led companies currently advertising on the site to ask themselves if it is really worth the rates they are paying?