The neighbor you’re arguing with on Facebook? They might be fake.
In Hanover, a heated battle over a $3.76 million tax override is unfolding not just in town halls, but in the digital town square. And Hanover isn't alone.
On local Facebook pages across the South Shore, residents passionately debate school funding, rising property taxes, and the future of their communities - trading barbed comments and occasional accusations.
The arguments follow a familiar pattern: concerned parents advocate for education funding, others worry about being priced out of their homes, and conversations can quickly grow personal. Opinions are strong, positions entrenched.
But amid this digital democracy, there's a troubling twist: at least one vocal "resident" shaping the conversation isn't real.
Facebook's Fake Account Problem
Meta faces an escalating battle with artificial identities. According to the company's own estimates, between 4 and 5 percent of Facebook accounts are fake.
The scale is staggering: Meta's Q4 Community Standards Enforcement Report reveals the company removed 1.4 billion fake accounts from October to December 2024 alone—more than double the enforcement actions from the same period last year.
"Our goal is to remove as many fake accounts on Facebook as we can," Meta explained in their report, targeting both malicious accounts and those misrepresenting businesses, organizations, or even pets.
Yet the company acknowledges in securities filings that identifying these accounts involves "significant judgment," leaving substantial questions about their detection methodology.
Uncovering Fake Accounts
Norton Antivirus expert Nyrmah J. Reina suggests several red flags to watch for in spotting fake profiles. He suggests running reverse image searches on suspiciously perfect profile pictures, watching for unnatural interaction patterns, verifying that friend networks appear logical rather than randomly assembled, and being alert to inconsistent narratives, generic comments, and frequent grammatical errors in communications.
After reader tips prompted a two-week investigation, the South Shore Times identified at least 17 prolific social media posters on local politics who matched the characteristics described by Reina.
The Local Conversation
The Facebook poster appeared genuine. And mad. She was adamant that the town's proposed override vote would force seniors like her from their homes.
A relative newcomer to the Facebook group – she joined in February – the user immediately dove into the political debate. She frequently commented on articles and engaged with other residents. Despite her active role in the group, her own profile remained a sparse collection of political repostings.
And there was a bigger problem.
The image in the profile of the user belongs to a woman living in North Dakota. A reverse image search of the professional headshot tracked back to her employer's website, where she appears under a completely different name (her real one) than the one tied to the Facebook account.
The South Shore Times was able to get in touch with the woman to confirm her identity. She's never heard of the town in which her likeness was being used. In fact, she's never stepped foot in Massachusetts.
The owner of the Facebook profile did not respond to repeated requests from South Shore Times. In many cases, accounts run by automated bots are only programmed to post, not respond to messages.
Note: we've chosen not to name this specific profile because we can't confirm that the user isn't a minor.
Reporting Fake Profiles
Residents who suspect they've encountered a fake account can report it directly to Facebook. Users can click the three dots in the upper right of a profile, select "Find support or report," and choose "Fake Account" as the reason. Meta encourages providing as much detail as possible when submitting reports.