It's not very often that we come across a situation where Facebook makes genuine efforts to fight spam and malware; specially at such a large scale. But I have to admit that this time when Facebook has impressed me by taking strong measures to remove all fake or illegitimately purchased 'likes' on Facebook pages.

"When a Page and fan connect on Facebook, we want to ensure that connection involves a real person interested in hearing from a specific Page and engaging with that brand’s content. As such, we have recently increased our automated efforts to remove Likes on Pages that may have been gained by means that violate our Facebook Terms" shares Facebook in a blog post.

The results are clearly evident!

There are many ways in which a page can gather more likes, but the only right way is by connecting with your fans organically. But there are many business pages who gain likes through malware, deceived users, compromised accounts and purchased bulk likes.

"To be clear, we do not and have never permitted the purchase or sale of Facebook Likes as we only want people connecting to the Pages and brands with whom they have chosen to connect. Beyond the need to maintain authentic relationships on Facebook, these third-party vendors often attempt to use malware or other forms of deception to generate fraudulent Likes, which is harmful to all users and the internet as a whole." clarifies Facebook.

Of course, ever since Facebook started its spring cleaning session, many accounts have been affected. Topping the list is Texas HoldEm Poker that has lost more than 1 million likes from its 65 million fans.

Texas HoldEm Poker Facebook Page Data

There are many other popular Facebook pages who've lost a major chunk of likes, here are some examples:

FarmVille: -41,681
Eminem: -17,160
Rihanna: -28,275
The Simpsons: -13,061
Shakira: -26,407
Lady Gaga: -34,326
Michael Jackson: -19,680

According to Facebook, less than 1% likes on any given page will be removed.

"Users will continue to connect to the Pages and Profiles they authentically want to subscribe to, and Pages will have a more accurate measurement of fan count and demographics. This improvement will allow Pages to produce ever more relevant and interesting content, and brands will see an increase in the true engagement around their content. To help protect yourself in the future, please be aware of suspicious links and visit www.facebook.com/hacked if you have any reason to believe that your account may be compromised. "

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