Explicit and violent images have flooded the newsfeeds of many Facebook users in the last 24 hours or so.
The content, which includes explicit hardcore porn images, photoshopped photos of celebrities such as Justin Bieber in sexual situations, pictures of extreme violence and even a photograph of an abused dog, have been distributed via the site - seemingly without the knowledge of users.
Some Facebook users vented their annoyance on Twitter, with some claiming they would deactivate their Facebook accounts as a result:
It isn't presently clear precisely how the offending content has been spread - whether users are falling for a clickjacking scheme, are being tagged in content without their knowledge, have poorly chosen privacy settings, have been tricked into installing malicious code, or have fallen victim to another vulnerability inside Facebook itself. What's clear, however, is that mischief-makers are upsetting many Facebook users and making the social networking site far from a family-friendly place.
Reporters at Gawker have speculated that hackers associated with Anonymous may be responsible for the attack, but that is unconfirmed.
So, it seems highly offensive spam content has successfully spread via Facebook for 24 hours or more. It's precisely this kind of problem which is likely to drive people away from the site. Facebook needs to get a handle on this problem quickly, and prevent it from happening on such a scale again.
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