Meta bans millions of accounts as AI impersonates real creators - ABC News & Headlines –…

In May 2025, an ASMR content creator known as Alicia discovered that her professional online presence had been hijacked by sophisticated AI-generated impersonations. Despite being familiar with typical online catfishing, the scale of this incident was unprecedented, as a fraudulent Facebook profile using her identity amassed over 500,000 followers and secured official Meta verification. The incident highlights the growing challenge creators face when AI tools are leveraged to bypass platform integrity standards and misappropriate digital personas for profit.

What happened

The attack involved the creation of a fake Facebook profile that utilized AI-generated imagery to synthesize Alicia's likeness onto different bodies. This fraudulent account successfully passed Meta’s verification process, lending it a veneer of legitimacy that allowed the perpetrator to sell subscription-based content. When Alicia attempted to resolve the issue, she found her own legitimate account had been banned for violating community standards, likely due to the fraudulent activity.

Alicia’s experience revealed significant gaps in platform support systems. She reported being trapped in a loop of automated AI chatbot interactions and received only automated responses after finally reaching human support. Despite providing proof of identity, she remained locked out of her livelihood for a month. The situation was only resolved after external media intervention, at which point Meta acknowledged the policy violation and removed the impostor profile. While Meta reports that it removed over 20 million accounts impersonating large creators in 2025 and claims a 33 percent reduction in such reports, the incident underscores the helplessness felt by users when automated enforcement systems fail to distinguish between legitimate creators and AI-driven impostors.