On September 26 Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that it has began removing fake "likes" from brand pages. These fake "likes" are generated by compromised accounts, deceived users, malware and "likes" that were purchased in bulk.

Facebook has begun removing fake likes from business and brand pages. ©AFP PHOTO/LEON NEAL

In an August blog post in which Facebook promised to ramp up security, the company stated that less than 1 percent of "likes" per brand or business page would be removed, although the decision to begin removing fake "likes" has had some interesting impacts on certain brand pages.

Zynga's Texas Holdem Poker lost around 96,000 of its 63 million "likes," around 0.15 percent, while Justin Bieber and Leo Messi both experienced a loss of about 0.03 percent of their likes, reports TechCrunch.

The removal of fake "likes" by Facebook is predicted to help reduce spam friend requests, fake comments and the risk of being scammed by others.