Facebook is the world's largest social networking site but has been banned in several countries. In China, where the service is restricted, it has an impressive fan base.
The response to a Facebook account created on China's social network Sina Weibo clearly points to its popularity. The account, which was found to be a fake, garnered more than 80,000 followers during its short life.
A spokeswoman for Facebook confirmed to Wall Street Journal that the company did not create a new account on the Chinese social networking site. In fact, the WSJ's Digit blog reported that Facebook has an official Weibo account for the social network's engineering group, which is currently inactive. The fake account was deactivated on Tuesday, a little more than a week after it was opened.
The fake account fooled many users with its almost-real look. It featured posts of long-lost twin sisters who found each other on Facebook and a photo of one of the foxes that was spotted on a Menlo Park, Calif., campus. To add more authenticity to the account, a photo of Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg was posted as he held a sign in Chinese wishing a happy holiday to readers on Monday's Mid-Autumn Festival. Apparently, the photo was taken in 2010, Digits noted.
China has long banned sites like Facebook and Twitter from operating in the country. The stringent government laws gave rise to local social media sites like Sina Weibo, which remains the country's most popular social networking site. Zuckerberg has long shown interest in launching the service in the country and made several visits.
Similarly, Digits pointed out another Weibo account in the name of Twitter, which was opened over the weekend and amassed 3,000 followers. The authenticity of the account is still unknown.
