The original goal of Facebook was simple: to connect people.
At first it was just to connect Harvard students, then Ivy League students, and eventually anyone with an e-mail address. Not only did Facebook succeed in that goal, but they blew it out of the water. Now in 2024, Facebook has over 3 billion active monthly users; thats almost 40% of the worldwide population. Even more importantly, the success of Facebook in connecting people is the most clear to me in how such a wide range of age groups regularly use Facebook. My grandpa doesn't have Twitter or Instagram, and would have a heart attack trying to navigate Reddit or Threads, but you can be sure he posts on Facebook.
Compared to other social media platforms, Facebook has always felt more family focused to me. Facebook is historically where families and close groups have gone to share what they are doing and provide important life updates like graduations, marriages, kids, and other big events. I wouldn't know half of what is going on in my cousin's lives without Facebook. This came with its own set of downsides of course, as I think everyone can relate to seeing random Facebook arguments between family members over things that won't matter in the long run, but the positives outweighed the negatives.
The most annoying aspect of scrolling through your Facebook feed used to be just that: being flooded with pictures of someone you barely know's cousin's birthday. However, nowadays it's hard to get through even five posts before encountering A.I. generated posts by accounts run by bots. This problem has sprung up and grown exponentially in just a few months, and has been noticed by and reported on by a variety of outlets already such as Standford University's Internet Observatory and Cyber Policy Center, National Public Radio, 404 Media, and many others. However, this is a problem that you would be able to realize on your own just by using Facebook and knowing what to look out for.
There are a wide range of posts these accounts use to drive engagement. Some create fake stories about inspiring performances on talent shows like America's Got Talent, some are A.I. generated images of impossibly perfect woodworking projects. Others are more malicious, having fake sob stories about children in financial trouble or those in tough times asking you to comment.
Now that we have covered the extent of the problem, there are two things I think are important to cover:
1. Why is this happening? What is the benefit of these accounts making these A.I. spam posts?
2. What can I use to help figure out if a post is A.I. or not?
For the answer to #1, the answer is fairly simple. As covered in the article by 404 Media, "...the images are directing people to a website called Planetee.info, which is a Wordpress site absolutely littered with ads from Google’s Adsense." Many of these posts have a link pinned in the top comment that they aim to get users to click on in order to make money from the ads on the website. Simply put, having an account run by a bot that posts A.I. generated images is the easiest way to try and get people to come to your site, as opposed to trying to create every post and image yourself.
For #2, let's use a post as an example. Here is a post that was highlighted in NPR's article:
There are two main signs that this is not an authentic picture. The first sign is the easiest. If you look, the child in the photo seems to have three arms. A.I. image generators are famous for having issues with generating the correct amount of arms, hands, and feet. Second, look at where the sculpture starts to connect with the ground. It seems that the tile near the bottom starts to morph into random shapes and almost something akin to a second layer on top. Noticing when things look out of place is key.
The other tip for recognizing these posts is the description. Many of these posts have a description that would encourage or sometimes blatantly ask for a response in the comments. In this case, it says "but no one appreciates this" combined with a sad face emoji in order to prompt responses that would praise or comfort them. A very common phrase in these posts is "thanks to everyone who appreciates this." If you see that phrase, make sure to look a little closer.
Overall, Facebook and social media as a whole are facing a growing problem with bot and A.I. accounts. Hopefully these tips help you figure out whether you are looking at an authentic post or not in the future.
