( CNN ) -- If it looks like lots of Facebook pages are shedding fans , it 's because they are . But , then again , they are n't . Facebook has begun a purge of fake accounts and `` Likes '' as part of a set of site improvements announced last month . The result has been lower numbers on fan pages , including some of the site 's most popular ones , but no actual loss of real followers . On August 31 , Facebook announced plans for improvements to its `` site integrity systems . '' That , according to a blog post , included increased automated efforts to sniff out and delete fake accounts or Likes that had been illicitly sold or gained by otherwise shady means . `` A Like that does n't come from someone truly interested in connecting with a Page benefits no one ... , '' the post read . `` When a Page and fan connect on Facebook , we want to ensure that connection involves a real person interested in hearing from a specific Page and engaging with that brand 's content . '' On Thursday morning , Zynga 's Texas HoldEm Poker page had lost almost 200,000 Likes since Tuesday , according to Facebook analytics site PageData . Pop star Lady Gaga lost about 66,000 during that same two-day span , and `` The Simpsons '' dropped about 21,000 . Facebook confirmed to CNN that the slipping Likes numbers are part of the site upgrade . The company said pages that have been abiding by its rules should expect no more than a 1 % dip in Likes . Even Zynga 's big drop represented only roughly .3 % of the more than 65 million people who like that poker page . Facebook 's purge targets inauthentic Likes created a number of ways . Some are caused by malware . Others happen when a user is deceived into `` liking '' something they may have not intended to like . In its post , Facebook said it has never allowed Likes to be sold , but that it has caught third-party vendors trying to use malware and other forms of deception to do just that . Similar problems have plagued Twitter , where automated systems have tried to inflate users ' follower counts . `` While we have always had dedicated protections against each of these threats on Facebook , these improved systems have been specifically configured to identify and take action against suspicious Likes , '' Facebook said .
Facebook pages losing `` Likes '' as site cracks down on fakes . Last month , Facebook announced `` site integrity '' upgrades . The changes include a new way to report fake accounts and more stringent verification of the identities behind them. Zynga poker , Lady Gaga , `` Simpsons '' are among pages losing numbers .