Facebook tightens noose around fake accounts
San Francisco, Aug 11 : The world's largest social media network Facebook on Friday took measures to make it more difficult to run fake or compromised accounts on its platform as it demanded authorization from its users who have a large number of followers in the US.
"Today we're introducing Page publishing authorization starting with people that manage a Page with a large audience in the US," Facebook said.
People who manage these Pages will be required to complete an authorization process in order to continue to post, making it harder for people to administer a Page using a fake or compromised account, said the California-based social media company.
The new measures will ask administrators of Facebook pages to secure their account with two-factor authentication and confirm their primary home location.
Facebook said people will see more details in the Info and Ads section of Pages after a new section is added to show the primary country locations where those Pages are managed from.
Facebook said the requirement will be enforced soon this month, which will be applied to other Facebook platforms such as Instagram in the next few weeks.
The new measures are part of Facebook's recent campaigns to prevent organizations and individuals from creating accounts that mislead its users before the US mid-term elections are going to take place in November.
Last week, Facebook deleted 32 Pages and accounts from its platform and Instagram for being "involved in coordinated inauthentic behavior".
It said its security unit has found a coordinated campaign on its platform aiming to exert political influence ahead of the November US elections.
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Dalit officer of Kumta Municipality traced in Belagavi after alleging harassment by chief officer
Bhatkal: The 25-year-old Dalit Revenue Inspector (RI) of Kumta Town Municipality, who went missing earlier this week after accusing his senior officer of harassment and caste discrimination, has been traced in Belagavi.
The officer, Venkatesh Ramesh Harijan, a resident of Harijanakeri in Koteshwara, Bhatkal taluk, had reportedly left his home on Tuesday night without informing anyone. Before going missing, he had sent a WhatsApp message to a group of municipal members and staff, alleging that M.R. Swamy, the Chief Officer (CO) of Kumta TMC, had been mentally and caste-wise harassing him for a long time.
Venkatesh’s mother, Asha Ramesh Harijan, later filed a missing person complaint at the Bhatkal Town Police Station, stating that her son was under severe mental pressure due to humiliation and misconduct by his superior. She alleged that Swamy often used insulting and casteist language towards her son, targeting him because of his Dalit background.
In a letter believed to have been written before his disappearance, Venkatesh accused the CO of misusing the name of Kumta MLA Dinakar Shetty to justify illegal activities. He further alleged that Swamy had tried to force him into corrupt practices, including demanding a bribe of Rs 4 lakh and manipulating official documents by altering government building records from the ‘B account’ to the ‘A account’.
The letter was reportedly sent to a colleague on WhatsApp shortly before he went missing.
Following the complaint, Bhatkal police began an intensive search operation. According to reports, Venkatesh later contacted his family from Belagavi and informed them that he was safe. Acting promptly, a police team from Bhatkal travelled to Belagavi, where they located him at the Market Police Station.
The incident has stirred strong reactions among Kumta Municipality staff and local residents, who have condemned the alleged misconduct of the Chief Officer. The employees’ association has submitted a memorandum to the Municipal President, demanding the immediate transfer of M.R. Swamy and a probe into the allegations.
Police sources said a detailed inquiry will be conducted into the claims of mental and caste-based harassment made by the Revenue Inspector.
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