Facebook probes reports of dummy accounts on social media site 

MANILA, Philippines — Facebook on Sunday said it was already investigating the surge of dummy accounts being reported by students and faculty of some universities.

“We’re investigating reports of inauthentic accounts on Facebook in the Philippines,” the social media giant said in a statement.

“We are working to validate the authenticity of these accounts, and where they fail our authenticity checks, the accounts will be removed,” it added.

Facebook also encouraged users to report accounts suspected to be inauthentic through their reporting tools.

The social media site added that it has estimated that 5 percent of its worldwide monthly active users are fake accounts.

“As outlined in our latest Community Standards Enforcement Report released last month, in the first quarter of this year, we removed 1.7 billion fake accounts from Facebook globally,” Facebook said.

Some universities, such as the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, and the University of Santo Tomas, reported that its students and faculty were victims of fake Facebook accounts.

The UP Office of the Student Regent said that reports of dummy accounts came after protests erupted in UP campuses to oppose the Anti-Terror Bill, which is waiting for the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Similarly, the Philippine Department of Justice has ordered a probe on the surge of dummy accounts.

/MUF