Fake Account on Facebook? Think again.
Look, here’s the deal. Don’t waste your time reporting a fake account on Facebook. If you do, you’ll quickly discover you’re wrong. And no one likes to have their mistakes pointed out to them.
And why do I say this? Because I recently reported a fake account on Facebook and the good folks at Facebook told me several times that I was wrong.
I thought I had a case as tight as a duck’s ass, but it was proven otherwise. The so-called fake account did not violate Facebook’s community standards.
Let’s take a look at the Facebook community standards. I’ve highlighted the parts that I thought pertained to my situation.
- Creating inauthentic profiles
- Using their images with the explicit aim to deceive people
- Accounts that are fake
- Accounts that have fake names
Now let’s take a look at what I thought was a fake account on Facebook.
Putting Facebook Community Standards to Action
I was alerted to the Facebook account of Martin’s Mark Brown Writter. Now, as you know, my website is Mark Brown Writer, as are my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest accounts.
Now I’m no odds maker but I thought the odds were pretty slim that two accounts could be so similar in name. Of course I spell writer with one t. So out of the four points I pulled from Facebook’s community standards, three were marked off:
- Creating inauthentic profiles
- Accounts that are fake
- Accounts that have fake names
I reported the so-called fake account to Facebook. I received this message:
“Thanks for letting us know about something you think may go against our Community Standards. Reports like yours are an important part of making Facebook a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.
In this case, we reviewed the profile you reported and found that it doesn’t go against our Community Standards.”
At first I was incensed. Look at this account.
I thought it was someone using pictures of me, with basically my social media name, to sell bitcoin under false pretenses. I mean, I truly believed that all four of the points I highlighted from Facebook’s community standards were hit.
- Creating inauthentic profiles
- Using their images with the explicit aim to deceive people
- Accounts that are fake
- Accounts that have fake names
But Facebook told me I was wrong. Clearly this isn’t an inauthentic account, a fake account or an account that has a fake name. Just someone who looks a lot like me and has a very similar name.
More Freakish Similarities
But the uncanny similarities don’t end there. I find it amazing that this guy is also friends with two of my friends, Deedee Magno Hall and Cliffton Hall. And the picture he’s posted of them looks to be in the same recording studio where Deedee and Cliffton recorded a song for me for my new musical. I wonder if Martins Mark Brown Writter is also working on a new musical.
Here’s the oddly similar photo from my Facebook page.
Creepy.
And this one. I know what you’re thinking. That’s me in an ugly Christmas sweater and me wearing an ugly hat. Nope. Not me. Facebook says so. But I do like all of those bitcoin pictures.
And what you can’t see in these pictures is the URL for the not fake account.
www.facebook.com/emmanuel.bobby.94
Now I don’t know much about marketing or any of that fancy stuff, but I would think you would put your name in the URL. Like mine.
www.facebook.com/markbrownwriter
Not so. If you’re Martins Mark Brown Writter you obviously want to use the name emmanuel.bobby.94 in the URL. And he would know. He sells bitcoin.
Several Reports
I just didn’t know when to stop. I reported the account several times. Many of my friends reported the account. Everyone received the same message from Facebook:
“Thanks for letting us know about something you think may go against our Community Standards. Reports like yours are an important part of making Facebook a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.
In this case, we reviewed the profile you reported and found that it doesn’t go against our Community Standards.”
And Facebook would know. I mean, they’re pretty good at identifying fake accounts.
So take it from me. If you’re convinced there’s a fake account on Facebook, don’t report it. You’re wrong. Clearly I was wrong.
