It’s 2019, but this still happens far too much! What is Facebook spam? It might be that you know someone that is a serial Facebook status updater, but that’s up to them, and you can choose who your friends are…BUT, have you ever seen someone posting or sharing a competition that sounds too good to be true? Or someone shares a post that concerns you and your privacy? For example…

“Well, I’m jumping on the bandwagon too. Fighting this Facebook algorithm change, because I’m definitely noticing that I am not seeing so many of my friends’ posts. Here’s how to avoid hearing from the same 26 FB friends and nobody else. This post explains why we don’t see all posts from our friends. Funny, thought if I followed you on Facebook I would see what you post. Not anymore, it seems. Your Newsfeed recently shows only posts from the same few people, about 25, repeatedly the same, because Facebook has a new algorithm. Their system chooses the people who will read your post. However, I would like to choose for myself. Therefore, I ask you all a favour. If you are reading this message leave me a quick comment, a “hello”, a sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my news feed. Otherwise Facebook chooses who to show me and I don’t need Facebook to choose my friends. Social media is about communication. Do not hesitate to copy and paste on your wall so you can have more interaction with all your contacts and bypass the system. That’s why we don’t see all posts from our friends. Thanks for the heads up from those who already copied and pasted the above. Hold your finger down anywhere in this post and “copy” will pop up. Click “copy”. Then go your page, start a new post on your page, then put your finger anywhere in the blank field. “Paste” will pop up and click paste and voila, you’ve just copied. Thanks xxxx”

Or

“Thanks for the tips to bypass FB… it WORKS!! I have a whole new news feed. I’m seeing posts from people I haven’t seen in years. Here’s how to bypass the system FB now has in place that limits posts on your news feed. Their new algorithm chooses the same few people – about 25 – who will read your posts. Therefore, Hold your finger down anywhere in this post and “copy” will pop up. Click “copy”. Then go your page, start a new post and put your finger anywhere in the blank field “Paste” will pop up and click paste. This will bypass the system. Hi new and old friends! Merry Christmas to my family and friends.”

However, that said, there is an extremely convoluted and twisted kernel of truth in here — Facebook’s algorithm does make judgement about which of your friends it thinks you want to see content from, and then prioritises them in your News Feed. And engaging with these friends’ posts (and them engaging with your posts) will make them appear more frequently. If you feel you are seeing only a limited number of posts from a limited number of people, there is a tried-and-true trick that will give you a different view of your News Feed: have it show you the “Most Recent” posts rather than its default, “Top Stories.” To do this on the desktop click on “News Feed” in the left-hand column and then on “Most Recent.”

There’s a good chance that this is the Facebook Spam that we’re referring to. We often see Facebook pages trying to boost their following and reach by offering to give something away for free, which is allowed; but there are still some rules around this which could potentially have your page removed from Facebook. Have a read of our previous blog to understand these rules a little better if you’re a page owner.

When it comes to spam though, there are a few different ways that these can happen: some are simply like chain-mail and are posts designed to scare people and they will just lay claim to having created to the original posts. Others, like the more recent Centre Parcs scam are trying harvest likes for no real reason whatsoever, some simply go after your data. Other times, they look to acquire as many likes as possible and then these people can sell the page on after they have amassed a huge following and audience, which could be valuable.

Facebook Hoax

The Centre Parcs Hoax offered to give away several trips if you liked a page and a post and shared it too! That easy to get a very valuable break for you and your family…[/caption]

The Centre Parcs hoax gathered more than 29,000 Facebook likes in just a matter of hours.

The post claimed that 30 lucky winners would be selected from those who shared, liked or commented on it, and featured a photo of a man, claiming to be “Center Parcs CEO Mark Frendon”, surrounded by golden envelopes – allegedly containing the free holidays.

However, despite appearing legitimate to thousands of people on social media, the post was revealed to be a fake. Someone even claimed the photo was of a man involved with putting the names in the Oscars envelopes, doctored specifically for the scam.

Here’s a few top tips from Social Progress on how to identify scams and spams:

1. There would be categorically formal announcements. If Facebook change something, you’ll get a notification, an email and they would post officially to their own pages to say that these changes are necessary and happening. Just because someone on your ‘friends list’ saw it from someone else, doesn’t mean it’s happening.
2. Look before you like! Is the page brand new? What’s the history of the page? It’s easy to copy official websites and add some info to make a page look authentic, but don’t you think Centre Parcs would have been running longer than 6 hours?
3. Verification: just as above, official pages are now certified with a blue tick by their name, much like our Facebook page. Verification is only possible for pages that might be mimicked for that very reason!
4. Search for the same thing elsewhere: Google it! If it’s true, it’s probably been blogged on and reported in a few different places already!
5. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is! It’s not impossible to win online competitions, but they’re really after your email address more than a like, but if you can win several thousand pounds worth of goods just with a click and a share…dream on, these are few and far between!
6. Check out hoax-slayer.com and snopes.com; these guys are usually pretty accurate and can tell you when something is or isn’t genuine.
7. Report any posts you think violate the terms and conditions of Facebook; just click the three dots at the top right of a post to report.
8. Get some friendly advice from your local Social Media specialists…Social Progress. We’re happy to help you if you need information on how to legitimately promote your page.

Let us know if you’ve seen any of this type of spam in the comments below!

Facebook Fact Checking:

Facebook has now launched its fact-checking service in the UK to deal with pages of false information. Last year Facebook had to deleted billions of offensive posts and spam in just six months.

Take a look at the full article on the Telegraph website to read more.