Fake Celebrity Ads: Meta Releases New Tool to Protect Users
- Celebrities on Facebook and Instagram can now use a new feature from Meta to protect their reputation
- The feature helps to identify fake and doctored adverts using celebrities' images and block them
- Meta has also integrated a facial recognition tool to protect users during account recovery
Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
As complaints about fake celebrity adverts become more widespread on social media, social media giant - Meta is finally taking action.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, is launching a recognition tool to help detect these kinds of adverts.
The adverts often feature doctored images and footage of well-known celebrities, used to promote certain products or services or to deceive users into sharing sensitive information and transferring money to scammers.
Source: Getty Images
With the new tool, Meta will be able to identify and flag these adverts and campaigns and block them once the misuse is confirmed.
How Meta’s new tool works to stop fake ads
When a user or public figure enables Meta’s new feature, the tool scans their profile pictures, and if a match is identified and confirmed with an image appearing in a suspected fake advert, the advert will be automatically blocked.
According to a report by Channels TV, the tool has been tested in several countries already, and Meta is now extending it into South Korea and Europe to cover more celebrities.
Speaking about the tool, Meta’s director of cyber threats, David Agranovich, disclosed that public figures would start receiving notifications to opt in or out of the feature in the coming weeks, and the company would be starting with those in Britain and the EU.
Agranovich expressed optimism that the tool would help identify cases of misused images or footage of public figures and enable swift action. He added that it complies with European data protection regulations, with users' facial data serving solely for the verification process.
Meta also announced that account recovery tools for all users would now include facial recognition features.
Fake celeb ads becoming rampant
The issue of fake advertisements has recently become prevalent on social media, and on several occasions, celebrities and organisations have had to debunk fake ads that use their names.
Source: Getty Images
The Nigerian Immigration Service debunked advertisements of an ongoing recruitment recently, pointing out that it was the work of scammers.
Meta's new feature would ensure that such ads are spotted and blocked before they go viral.
Recall that the BBC called out a certain "Kamala Harris Ad" explaining to the public how the voice was AI-generated using the image of the public figure.
Meta urged to protect users from scams
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that British online bank Revolut urged Meta to take steps to protect its users by reimbursing victims of password security breaches.
Revolut argued that Meta was not doing enough to tackle fraud globally, adding that its data-sharing initiative with UK banks and financial institutions falls woefully short of global standards.
Meta unveiled, in a press release, a partnership with British banks NatWest and Metro Bank designed to help protect customers against cyber fraud - including fake job, purchase or identity scams - by sharing data.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
