Meta explains what it does to creators who post unoriginal content

There is an abundance of user-generated content on social media these days, and Facebook is one of the biggest platforms. However, there are different types of creators; some brainstorm original ideas, while others profit by copying someone else's idea.

Meta has detailed how it rewards the hard-working creators who make the effort to post original content on Facebook, which is recommended across the Feed and Reels tabs. Meta claims that such creators are rewarded with greater reach and better payout opportunities. Meanwhile, creators who share unoriginal or copied content that adds no substantial creative value will be "deprioritized," and their accounts may be demonetized if they continue doing so.

The social media giant has updated its content guidelines to tell what qualifies as "original" content on Facebook. A piece of content is called original if it's filmed or produced directly by the creator or owner of a Facebook profile/page. Examples of such content include vlogs by creators or new episodes/clips/trailers of a show posted by the producers, talent, or network.

On the other hand, if someone duplicates content or does minor edits on another creator's post (such as adding borders, changing speed, or inserting captions), it will be considered unoriginal and deprioritized.

If someone includes third-party content in a Reel through remixes or overlays, Meta will consider it as original as long as it presents "something genuinely new," such as fresh information, analysis, or substantial improvements to the storyline.

"Simply watching along, reacting with facial expressions, stitching multiple clips together, or narrating what’s already on screen — without adding anything meaningful — is considered unoriginal and will likely be deprioritized in Feed and Reels," Meta warned.

That said, if a creator thinks their original content was wrongfully flagged, they can appeal the decision. Meta is also testing an improved version of its content protection tool that can detect potential impersonation and allows creators to report such incidents. It will expand to more creators in the future.

Speaking of impersonation, Meta said it removed over 20 million accounts in 2025 for impersonating large content creators, and saw a 33% drop in impersonation reports related to large creators. Recently, the social media giant also announced anti-spam tools for Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp.