Headline

Meta Cracks Down On Fake Accounts, Deletes 10 Million Profiles

Published

3 weeks ago

July 16, 2025

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has intensified its campaign against inauthentic behaviour on its platforms, announcing the removal of over 10 million fake profiles and about 500,000 spam accounts in the first six months of 2025.

The company said the move is part of a broader initiative to combat impersonation, fake engagement and content duplication — a strategy aimed at prioritising originality and ensuring that genuine creators are more visible across the platform.

Meta explained that accounts found to be reposting or recycling content without permission or meaningful edits will face consequences, including reduced reach and loss of access to monetisation tools.

“We’re making progress. In the first half of 2025, we took action on around 500,000 accounts engaged in spammy behaviour or fake engagement. We also removed about 10 million profiles impersonating large content producers,” Meta said in a blog post on Monday.

The company said repeated sharing of unoriginal content — including videos, photos, or text — diminishes the platform’s integrity by drowning out authentic voices and making it difficult for new creators to gain traction.

To support legitimate creators, Meta is rolling out new tools that automatically trace reposted content back to its original source. The company says this will help elevate authentic content and ensure credit goes to the rightful owners.

“Pages and profiles that post mostly original content tend to enjoy wider distribution across Facebook. Simply stitching clips together or adding a watermark will no longer count as meaningful editing. Content that provides real value and tells an authentic story is likely to perform better,” Meta stated.

The company also cautioned against uploading content that carries watermarks from other platforms, saying such posts could result in penalties like reduced distribution or removal of monetisation privileges.

As part of the latest update, Meta has introduced post-level insights on the Professional Dashboard, allowing creators to track the performance of individual posts. Creators can also check their Support Home screen to determine if their content or earnings face potential restrictions.

In a parallel move, Google’s YouTube has issued an update to its monetisation guidelines, announcing that content deemed mass-produced or excessively repetitive will no longer qualify for ad revenue.

The policy update initially caused confusion online, with some creators interpreting it as a clampdown on AI-generated content. However, YouTube later clarified that this is not the case.

“We welcome creators using AI tools to enhance their storytelling, and channels that use AI in their content remain eligible to monetise,” YouTube said in a statement.

Both tech giants say these changes are designed to raise content standards and strengthen protections for creators in an increasingly competitive digital ecosystem.

Headline

Medical Plane Crash Kills Six In Kenya

Published

10 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

A medical light aircraft crashed into a small residential block near the Kenyan capital Nairobi, killing at least six people and injuring two seriously, a local official said Thursday.

The plane took off from Nairobi’s Wilson airport at 2:17 pm local time (1100 GMT) and was en route to Somaliland when it came down in Ruiru, Kiambu County, shortly after 3:00 pm (1200 GMT).

“We have lost four people, including the pilot… it was all fatal,” said Kiambu County commissioner Henry Wafula, adding that two people were killed on the ground. He said another two had been “seriously injured”.

AFP

Headline

FULL LIST: Ghana Releases Identities Of Helicopter Crash Victims

Published

18 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

The Ghanaian Government has released the names of individuals who died in Wednesday morning’s military helicopter crash.

The crash involved a Z-9 helicopter belonging to the Ghana Armed Forces, which lost contact during a flight from Accra, the capital, to Obuasi, a gold-mining town in the south, where the crew headed for an official engagement.

In a post via its official X handle on Wednesday, the Ghana Armed Forces said the victims comprise eight people.

The names and portfolios of the victims are listed below:

1. Edward Omane Boamah – Minister for Defence

2. ⁠Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed – Minister for Environment, Science and Technology

3. Muniru Mohammed – Acting deputy, National Security Coordinator and former Minister for Food and Agriculture

4. Samuel Sarpong – Vice- Chairman, National Democratic Congress

5. ⁠Samuel Aboagye – Former parliamentary candidate

6. Peter Baafemi Anala – ⁠Squadron leader

7. ⁠Manaen Twum Ampadu – Flying officer

8. ⁠Ernest Addo – Sergeant

Following the sad development, Ghanaian President John Mahama described the incident as a national tragedy and suspended activities upon receiving the news.

He also directed that flags fly at half-mast to honour the memory of the victims.

Headline

Bodies Of Helicopter Crash Victims Arrive In Accra

Published

19 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

The Ghana Armed Forces on Wednesday confirmed the arrival in Accra of the remains of the victims of the Z-9 military helicopter crash, which claimed the lives of eight personnel.

It stated that the victims’ bodies were transported from the crash site aboard a Ghana Air Force Casa aircraft and received at the Air Force Base in Accra on August 6, 2025.

According to a statement issued by the Acting Director General, Public Relations, Ghana Navy, Captain Veronica Arhin, government officials, military personnel, and sympathisers led by the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Julius Debrah, were present to receive the bodies.

The statement said the remains have since been deposited at the 37 Military Hospital for preservation and preparations for burial.

It noted that all eight bodies were recovered from the crash site located in the Sikaman area, near Adansi Akrofuom in Ghana’s Ashanti Region.

The Ghana Armed Forces extended its appreciation to the people of Sikaman and the security services for their support during the recovery operations.

“The Deputy Minister for Defence, Hon. Brogya Genfi, and the Military High Command extend their deepest condolences to the families in this difficult national tragedy,” the statement added.