Fake profiles on Facebook, is someone pretending to be you?

One of the greatest compliments is to be copied, however if you are a famous person someone pretending to be you is full of hazards especially if they use your photograph, name, location and age to try and persuade people they are you then write as you saying things you may not want to be associated with.

Facebook has always been a haven for false personalities, how on earth Benny Hill has a profile page when he died long before Facebook was even thought off, whilst his profile has clearly been created by a fan other profiles have a far more sinister motive.

Whilst I guess it may be funny to have Gordon Brown coming out with ridiculous things on the false profile page on Facebook, for others it could be extremely confusing when trying to find the real person.

Fake Gordon Brown profile

You can report a fake profile by clicking the ‘Report this person’ link at the bottom of the page. This is only available currently if privacy settings set by the person who created the page allow you to view the profile. If you can only view after becoming their friend you cannot report this way as you cannot report your ‘friends’ or unless you are in a profile. If this is the case visit the report someone form.

Fake profiles also expose the importance of having a real profile. If you do not have a real Facebook profile then it is even easier for someone to pass themselves off as you and if they initially act in a sensible way could build a legitimate group of friends who may be unaware they are not friends with the real person.

The benefits of having of a profile are many but the primary one being that if someone searches for you within Facebook they find content you have control over and allowing you to share with a wider audience all the hard work that you do for your constituents.

Will the real Gordon Brown please get a real Facebook profile

Not all fake profiles are negative, some are just set up by supporters frustration with the politicians lack of ability to keep up with the every changing social media environment. However if they cannot keep up their advisers and communications staff must.

Another dodgy Facebook profile for Gordon Brown


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