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Facebook Faces Massive Spam Attack

Just when it looked as if brands were finally embracing Facebook, the social network is experiencing its most serious case of vandalism ever. 

For the past few days, what ZDNet calls “an exploit” has been turning users’ newsfeeds into “unstoppable torrents of hardcore pornography and gory, violent pictures.”

According to The Washington Post, the unwelcomed posts have prompted Facebook to launch an investigation “into what appears to be a widespread spam or hacking attack.”

In a statement, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said: “Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and malicious content is a top priority for us and we are always working to improve our systems to isolate and remove material that violates our terms."

The bigger question is what impact the unresolved issue will have on Facebook’s image with users and advertisers.

"The fact that these photos spread for as long as 48 hours unchecked [shows] how much Facebook relies on individual users to flag inappropriate content,” writer Jackie Cohen complained to CNN.com. “People were commenting on the images more than flagging them," Cohen added.

Worse still, “Facebook’s new emphasis on images in timelines and profiles is also heightening the effects providing even greater scope for images to offend by appearing in more visible places and in greater resolution and size,” The Next Web points out.

“This is the type of spam we’ve seen on Facebook before, but it’s coming in at a much faster pace,” according to ZDNet. For that reason, the news outlet is suggesting that the posts are part of a planned attack.

Either way, “Facebook must be fuming at this defilement of their users' pure white news feeds,” writes Gawker. “Its prude moderators censor even a tasteful drawing of a nude woman if it looks too realistic. It's the internet: Porn finds a way.”

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