Why Are Dead People Liking Stuff On Facebook?

[bananas]

http://readwrite.com/2012/12/11/why-are-dead-people-liking-stuff-on-facebook

Why Are Dead People Liking Stuff On Facebook?
Bernard Meisler posted 20 hours ago

Last month, while wasting a few moments on Facebook, my pal Brendan O’Malley was surprised to see that his old friend Alex Gomez had “liked” Discover. This was surprising not only because Alex hated mega-corporations but even more so because Alex had passed away six months earlier.

The Facebook “like” is dated Nov. 1, which is strange since Alex “passed [away] around March 26 or March 27,” O’Malley told me. Worse, O’Malley says the like was “quite offensive” since his friend “hated corporate bullshit.”

<snip>

Facebook’s Explanation

A Facebook spokesman says the “likes” from dead people can happen if an account doesn’t get “memorialized” (meaning someone informs Facebook that the account-holder has died). If nobody tells Facebook that the account-holder is dead, Facebook just keeps operating on the assumption the person is alive.

In that case, someone’s “likes” from months and months ago can still keep surfacing in the news feeds of their friends, since Facebook recycles “likes” long after they first occur. Who knew?

<snip>

He gives a lot of examples of fake "likes", even from living people, for things they would never "like".

[Chemisse]

1. Facebook is evil.

Too bad I am addicted to it.

[dipsydoodle]

2. the “likes” from dead people can happen if an account doesn’t get “memorialized”

That confirms they're doing the entries themselves.

***t's.

[Uben]

3. Here's another way.....

I don't do facebook, but my wife had an account. She died in February, and I never closed the account, so theoretically, I could log on to her accoount and like something. I don't,of course, but I could.

[No Vested Interest]

4. Dead accounts

I have wondered about accounts of persons who have died. - Do they just stay on FB indefinitely unless a family member removes them?
Is there any mechanism for checking against such accounts?

I'm inclined to think not, as I know of one that remains 1 1/2 yrs after the person's death. Likely the relatives had no idea there was such an account and wouldn't even know what to do about it if they knew.