Meta has announced that it is cracking down on ‘unoriginal’ content on Facebook in a bid to “protect and elevate creators sharing original content”. The move comes shortly after YouTube implemented a similar policy that demonetises content deemed “repetitious” or “inauthentic”.
In a blog post outlining its new policy, Meta stated that it has launched a long-term initiative to make the Facebook Feed more relevant and to support authentic creators by targeting “spammy content”. The company noted that it has taken action against 500,000 accounts engaged in spammy behaviour or fake engagement by demoting their comments and reducing the distribution of their content to prevent these accounts from monetising.
Meta also revealed that around 10 million impersonator profiles have been removed from Facebook for impersonating large content creators.
Facebook defines unoriginal content as content that “reuses or repurposes another creator’s content repeatedly without crediting them”. Meta clarified that it does not intend to cut down on reaction or criticism videos but aims to address the repeated reposting of another creator’s content without permission.
The company stated that accounts that improperly reuse videos, photos or text posts will lose access to Facebook’s monetisation programmes for a period of time and will see reduced distribution on all their shared content. Facebook noted that it has technology that can detect duplicate videos and reduce their distribution.
Meta added that reducing the distribution of unoriginal content on the platform should help original creators gain the visibility they deserve. It is also testing a new method to provide proper attribution to creators, including adding links on duplicate videos that direct viewers to the original content.
The new changes will roll out on Facebook in the coming months. However, given Meta’s history, it would not be surprising if these rules extend to its other platforms, such as Instagram, in the near future.
