A scam is rampant on Facebook where people steal other people's content and then 'edit and re-upload old posts' to seize the rights to it.
Facebook and Instagram, both services from Meta, have implemented a tool called '
Facebook's edit function misused to backdate posts and claim copyright: Influencers move Delhi HC
https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/facebooks-edit-function-misused-to-backdate-posts-and-claim-copyright-influencers-move-delhi-hc
Copyright Scammers Weaponized Meta's Rights Manager with Backdating Exploit * TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/copyright-scammers-weaponized-metas-rights-manager-with-backdating-exploit/
Rights Manager is a system for detecting illegal content released by Facebook in 2016. It was announced as a countermeasure against 'freebooting,' an activity in which video content created by YouTube and other web media is copied and uploaded to Facebook without permission. It automatically detects movie content uploaded without the copyright holder's permission and notifies or removes it. Creators can choose to 'upload video content and create a library to easily monitor and protect against copyright infringement,' 'set authorized users for each video content,' and 'receive notifications when copyright infringement occurs.'
Facebook releases 'Rights Manager' for detecting illegal content, automatically identifying illegally uploaded content - GIGAZINE
According to Meta's transparency report, Rights Manager is used by Facebook and Instagram to detect and respond to millions of copyright infringement cases every month, and functions as part of a broader enforcement system.
However, there have been reports of Rights Manager's system being misused for fraud. Rights Manager not only detects and removes illegal copies of content, but also allows for broader content management. Normally, Meta reviews access to Rights Manager to ensure only legitimate rights holders have it, but enforcement is inadequate in some countries and regions, such as developing countries, and even influencers and organizations with millions of followers may be denied access. As a result, in 2024, there were reports of fraudsters buying and selling Rights Manager access rights and threatening legitimate rights holders, demanding a month's worth of revenue in exchange for restoring their content.
Scammers are exploiting Meta's copyright protection tools to threaten creators, saying they will remove content unless a ransom is paid - GIGAZINE
Furthermore, according to a July 2026 report by the Indian legal news site Bar and Bench , several lawsuits have been filed in the Delhi High Court alleging that Facebook's features were being exploited to steal content from legitimate rights holders.
On the desktop version of Facebook, you can edit past posts by selecting 'Edit Post.' This allows you to not only rewrite text but also add and remove attachments. Therefore, for example, if someone illegally copies content posted in 2026 and then edits their own post from 2025, attaching the copied content, Rights Manager could be tricked into believing that 'this is the content that was posted first.'
It has been reported that scammers can not only monetize the copied content as the rights holders, but also impose penalties on the accounts of legitimate rights holders.
Pushkar Raj Thakur, a financial educator and entrepreneur, has sued Meta, claiming that at least 36 of his videos were removed in this manner and that 'Meta acted on the allegations without verifying copyright holders, metadata, or editing history of posts.' Thakur is seeking approximately 20 million rupees (approximately 34 million yen) in damages, as well as demanding that Meta incorporate security measures into Rights Manager, such as user identity verification procedures, timestamp protection, and metadata verification.
In a similar case filed by creator Neeraj Joshi, who suffered similar losses, a court ruling on July 9, 2026, ordered Meta to 'preserve Joshi's account and submit basic account registration information and IP logs related to the fraudulent charges within three weeks.' These records could potentially reveal the person behind the fraud.
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in Web Service, Posted by log1e_dh