The Creator Bonus Program fueled the emergence of AI spam on Facebook. A research by 404 Media has now uncovered the machinery behind spam production.
Users who regularly publish posts on their Facebook accounts have the chance to be included in Facebook’s Creator Bonus program. This is how they can make money from content that goes viral.
But of course this doesn’t just attract creators. Spam factories in countries such as Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia also use the bonus program as a source of income, like research from 404 Media shows.
Facebook’s bonus program increases AI spam
Authorized users can earn money with their content via the Facebook bonus program. Some contributions are just a few cents, while others can bring in hundreds of dollars.
The probability of earning more money increases the more content is posted. This has now developed into a machine that uses automation to upload more and more AI-generated content to Facebook.
According to research by 404 Media Sometimes there are even hundreds of posts per day. The spammers create these, for example, using tools such as Microsoft’s AI Image Creator.
Spammers are systematically trained
The spammers obtain their information, among other things, from YouTube channels that specialize in AI machinery. But you can also find dozens of instructions on Fiverr and Gumroad or via Telegram channels that simply explain how to use AI image generators.
The creators sometimes manage several Facebook accounts at the same time and use automated tools to access them. Jason Koebler from 404 Media set up his own AI spam account for his research.
With the help of Vercel and WordPress accounts, Koebler can bypass Facebook’s automatic spam detection. He then creates an ad with his account, but does not publish it, instead using the preview link.
This process can then be repeated over and over again to trick people into clicking on photo albums that aren’t actually photo albums at all.
What does Meta say about the AI spam on Facebook?
Opposite 404 Media Meta confirms that the problems are known: “We know that bad actors adapt their tactics to circumvent our rules, so we are constantly working to improve our detection and enforcement.”
However, the group is also interested in the social network being filled with content: “We encourage creators to use AI tools to produce high-quality content that meets all of our community standards.”
Action is being taken against accounts that try to “generate traffic with inauthentic engagement”. This happens regardless of whether it is AI-generated content or not.
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The post Facebook paid users for AI spam – via bonus program by Maria Gramsch appeared first on BASIC thinking. Follow us too Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
As a tech industry expert, I have mixed feelings about Facebook’s decision to pay users for identifying AI spam through a bonus program. On one hand, it is a smart move by Facebook to crowdsource the detection of spam and improve the overall user experience on the platform. By incentivizing users to report AI spam, Facebook can potentially reduce the spread of harmful content and protect its user base.
However, there are also concerns about the effectiveness and reliability of this approach. Relying on unpaid users to identify and report AI spam may not always yield accurate results, as individuals may not always be able to distinguish between legitimate content and spam. Additionally, there is a risk of users abusing the system for monetary gain, leading to false reports and potentially harming innocent users.
Overall, while Facebook’s bonus program for identifying AI spam has the potential to be beneficial, it is important for the company to closely monitor and evaluate the results to ensure that it is actually improving the platform’s spam detection capabilities. It will be interesting to see how this program evolves and whether it ultimately proves to be a successful strategy for combating spam on Facebook.
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