Meta takes down ‘thousands’ of fake accounts, pages as May 12 polls near

Meta has taken down “thousands” of fake Facebook accounts and pages, with some from outside the country, amid the government’s intensified crackdown on misinformation as the May 12 elections near. –PHOTO FROM PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY

MANILA, Philippines — Meta has taken down “thousands” of fake Facebook accounts and pages, with some from overseas, amid the government’s intensified crackdown on misinformation as the May 12 elections near.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Wednesday said this update was provided by Genixon David, Meta’s representative for regional engagement, in a coordination meeting last May 2 with DICT chief Henry Aguda, Assistant Secretary Renato Paraiso, and other key officials in light of the upcoming elections.

“Meta shared updates on recent enforcement actions, noting that thousands of fake accounts and pages, with some originating outside the country, have been taken down for coordinated inauthentic behavior and disinformation,” the DICT said in a statement.

Takedown delays flagged

While lauding Meta for taking action against misinformation, Paraiso flagged instances of delays in their takedown response.

“Speed matters, especially when misinformation can undermine institutions or disrupt elections,” Paraiso said.

“This is not about pointing fingers—it’s about protecting the public and ensuring no one is left vulnerable to false narratives. We appreciate Meta’s willingness to engage in this dialogue. The next step is faster, more consistent implementation,” Paraiso said.

Aguda, who backed Paraiso’s pronouncements, said: “Meta has a duty to ensure its platforms are not used to undermine democracy. Slow response times are not acceptable, especially during an election period.”

Localized moderation

While calling for a faster takedown period, Aguda urged Meta to localize its moderation to avoid sweeping content removal due to missed local context or misinterpretations as a result of missed cultural nuances.

“Filipino content carries cultural nuance — humor, sarcasm, regional dialects,” Aguda said.

He continued: “Without deeper engagement from Meta’s moderation teams, critical context is missed, and legitimate content may be wrongly removed or harmful content can slip through. They need to invest in localized moderation and clear escalation channels.”

For its part, DICT said Meta is expected to follow up with its global policy teams and explore ways to improve local responsiveness.

War room

In a related development, a “war room” that would monitor election-related fake news was launched by the  Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the DICT.

Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said the Quezon City-based 24/7 Threat Monitoring Center of Comelec and DICT with Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), was launched on Monday.

This initiative comes as Comelec recently became the subject of misinformation like false claims pertaining to “No National ID, No Vote” as well as AI-generated deepfake videos.

READ: Comelec dismisses no national ID, no vote for May 2025 claim as untrue

“The misinformation is really massive,” Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia said in a statement.

The public is urged to report suspicious posts through CICC’s hotline 1326.

“The stakes are high, and the message is clear,” Paraiso said. “When disinformation wins, democracy loses. That’s why we cannot — and will not — let falsehoods go unchecked.”/coa