Meta launches Facebook Verified with facial recognition to combat AI-generated fake profiles

Meta launches new Facebook Verified badge for actual, real humans - Engadget

In the face of AI content, profiles and slop, Meta hopes a new Facebook Verified program will help human users interact with other humans. Based on a facial recognition selfie, checked against your existing profile pics, the company says the process will only take a few minutes. It's interesting that Meta has chosen to use facial recognition, given recent legal settlements and the pushback over facial recognition inside its smartglasses. To qualify, you will have to be over 18 and "in good standing" with Facebook's community standards. Once you've passed the test, your verified badge will appear across Marketplace, Dating and other parts of Facebook's sites and services. The big difference between this and the Facebook badge of old is that it's explicitly only identity confirmation, not endorsement, from Facebook or any kind of guarantee of their trustworthiness. Unlike Meta Verified, it's entirely free. The feature comes as wave of scammers and bad actors are utilizing generative AI tools to create and use fake profiles with realistic profile images, photos and back story, capable of sending automated messages at scale. It's an attempt by Meta to protect its users, to some extent, from fraud and scams. The feature won't be available for Pages or ProMode accounts and will be gradually rolled out across Facebook "starting in select markets with plans to expand globally."

Facebook announces face scanning to confirm you're a human

Meta has just announced 'Facebook Verified,' a new way for Facebook users to confirm they're human by submitting a face scan to the service. Here are the details. Facebook Verified is a new way to prove to others that you're a real person Today alongside launching a new Facebook Seller app for iPhone, Meta has announced a new verification system for Facebook users. Facebook Verified is an optional badge you can have added to your profile that helps authenticate that you're a human being. It sounds dystopian, and perhaps it is, but the idea is that AI has made it harder to know when a real person is behind a profile. From the announcement post: As AI makes it easier to generate content, profiles, and messages, we want to provide a way for you to know there is a real person on the other side of a profile. That's why we're introducing Facebook Verified, a free badge for people on Facebook. To get the badge (pictured above) on your profile, Facebook requires a facial verification process. Based on screenshots, it looks very similar to the iPhone's Face ID setup flow. Per Meta, it's a "simple selfie-based process. You record a short video selfie, which we check against your existing profile photos to confirm a match. The process is free and typically takes just a few minutes." Once you've been verified, your badge will display in a variety of places on Facebook. These include your Profile, Marketplace, Dating, and Groups. And later on, Facebook says it will be added to posts in the Feed as well. You have to be 18 years or older to qualify for Facebook Verified and be in good standing with the platform's Community Standards. More information about Facebook Verified is available here.

Facebook introduces free 'Facebook Verified' badge to fight AI impersonators

With AI persona-based accounts taking over social media sites, it's becoming hard to differentiate real people and AI-based accounts. To tackle this, Facebook has come up with the "Facebook Verified" tag. As AI makes it easier to generate content, profiles, and messages, we want to provide a way for you to know there is a real person on the other side of a profile, says the company. This is a free verification system by Facebook that collects users' video selfies and cross-checks with existing profile photos to confirm a match. The process should take just a few minutes, and once verification is complete, the user will receive a badge, a tick mark, which will be displayed on their profile page. Facebook has also confirmed that the verified mark will be used in several places, including Facebook Dating, Marketplace, Groups, and Profile to Start. Please note that to pass verification, an account must meet Meta's trust and safety standards, and the feature is available to eligible Facebook users aged 18 and older. Availability According to Meta, Facebook Verified is rolling out in phases, starting in select markets with plans to expand globally. Regarding the new feature, Meta says, The Facebook Verified badge means a profile belongs to a real person -- someone who completed selfie verification and meets our trust and safety standards. It's a quick, visible signal, before you respond to a listing, accept a date, or join a conversation, that there's a real person on the other end.