{"id":4068,"date":"2020-01-15T15:54:51","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T14:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=4068"},"modified":"2020-01-15T15:58:01","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T14:58:01","slug":"dealing-with-a-wave-of-fake-social-media-accounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/dealing-with-a-wave-of-fake-social-media-accounts\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with a Wave of Fake Social Media Accounts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Ministry of Information last week launched a platform<\/a> for reporting suspicious government social media accounts in the country in a bid to address the growing concerns regarding fake accounts. The government had earlier cautioned <\/a>the public against fake social media accounts used to dupe the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wave of fake social media accounts is not limited to Ghana<\/a>. As of September last year, a total of 3877 fake accounts<\/a> were detected with 78% deleted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest social network worldwide, Facebook, removed 1.7 billion fake accounts<\/a> in the third quarter of 2019 (July-September). This figure represents more than half the 2.45 billion monthly active users<\/a> recorded by the company in the same period. However, Facebook detected and removed a vast majority- 99.7 per cent- of the accounts minutes after registration. This was timely as they hadn’t become part of the company\u2019s worldwide monthly active users (MAU).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook estimates that fake accounts represented approximately 5%<\/a> of its MAU on Facebook during the second and third quarters of 2019 although some believe it could be around 20%<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other social media networks, such as Twitter, which as of the fourth quarter of 2018<\/a> had 321 million monthly active users<\/a>, have also tried to wage their own wars against fake accounts. In May and June 2018, Twitter suspended over 70 million suspicious and fake accounts<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Should We Care?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The existence of fake social media accounts should be a concern for all because of the threat they pose to society and in extension democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inauthentic social media accounts have the ability to form rhetorics and influence public discourse through the spread of propaganda. Recall, during the 2016 United States elections, Russian agents<\/a> employed fake accounts to spread anti-Clinton messages and to promote misinformation<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fake accounts are also notorious for ripping targets off financially. Hopeless romantics are also fair game for fake accounts users. The prevalence of this is so sad it’s been termed- catfishing<\/a>. Job-seekers also fall victim to fake accounts which promise them lucrative jobs in return for \u2018registration\u2019 and \u2018transaction fees\u2019. Note DUBAWA\u2019s experience in this fact-check<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, perpetrators use fake accounts to boost follower numbers<\/a>; numbers which are useful for online influencers who are paid for generating publicity for products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how can you tell if an account is fake? Here are a few tips to guide you:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n