Facebook Moves to Reward Original Creators, Crack Down on Copycats

Over the past year, Meta has made Facebook Feed and Stories more relevant by cracking down on spam content and making it harder for imitators and impersonators to drown out the voices of real creators. Today Meta is highlighting how creators are rewarded by Facebook for sharing their progress and posting original content.

Facebook has updated its content guidelines to clarify what it means to be “original,” and has begun rolling out new tools to help creators report potential impersonators and protect their work. This gives creators more control over their content, helps them grow their followers, and improves the Facebook experience for everyone.

More Views, Higher Payouts, Fewer Imitators

Facebook is committed to prioritizing original content in Facebook Feed and Stories while reducing the reach of non-original content. These efforts have had a measurable impact. In the second half of 2025, both views and time spent watching original Reels on Facebook roughly doubled compared to the same period in 2024. Opportunities to pay original creators on Facebook continue to grow as we invest in expanding the distribution of original content across Feed and Reels.

Facebook is also confronting impersonation head on. By 2025, we have removed more than 20 million accounts impersonating large content creators, and reports of impersonation involving large content creators have decreased by 33%.

Clearer guidelines for original content

Facebook has updated its content guidelines to more clearly define what content qualifies as original, encourage the creation of high-quality content, and improve what appears in recommendations. Here’s what this means in practice:

• Content filmed or created by the creator or owner of a profile or page is considered original content on Facebook.
• Reels that selectively incorporate third-party content (e.g. remixes or overlays) are considered original if the focus of the creator’s screen presence is to present something truly new, such as new information, analysis, or substantive improvements to the storyline. Simply watching along, reacting with facial expressions, linking multiple clips, and describing what’s already on screen without adding meaningful content is likely to be considered unoriginal and low priority in Feeds and Reels.
• Duplicate content or content that is slightly modified from another author’s post will be considered unoriginal and will not be prioritized. This includes re-uploading posts that your Page or profile had no role in creating, or making valueless changes to other people’s content, such as adding borders, inserting captions, or changing reel speeds, among the actions described above and in our Help Center.

As creators get creative and transform their content, their videos can be featured in Reels and Feeds and benefit from increased distribution. Creators who don’t add any real creative value will have their content deprioritized, and if they continue to post unoriginal content, they may see their account discouraged and demonetized.

Creators can always appeal decisions related to originality, and we’re constantly working to improve the accuracy of those decisions. Creators can learn more about the appeals process here.

New tool for reporting impersonation

In addition to supporting original content on Facebook, we’re also building new tools to help creators protect and grow their content.

Facebook launched Content Protection last year to automatically protect creators’ original Facebook Reels and take action when matches to their Reels are detected across the platform. We are now testing enhancements to this tool that will detect potential impersonation and allow creators to easily submit reports in one place. This new feature will be rolling out soon to more creators using Content Protection.

Creators can check their access to content protection tools in their professional dashboard or apply for access here.

Commitment to Creators

Meta is committed to making Facebook a place where creativity is celebrated and rewarded. With clearer original content guidelines and more powerful tools to protect creators’ work, it’s easier than ever to let your authentic voice stand out.