No, Facebook has not 'lost millions of users'

By NDTV Correspondent | Updated: 30 April 2013 20:14 IST

Social media was buzzing on Monday after a report in a prominent newspaper indicated Facebook had "lost millions of users", further fueling a perception that "Facebook fatigue" had started to set in. Turns out, the report may have been based on inexact data.

The Guardian kick-started it all with a report titled Facebook loses millions of users as biggest markets peak that mentioned that in the last six months, Facebook had lost nearly 9 million monthly visitors in the US and 2 million in the United Kingdom. The report also said users were "switching off" from the popular social network in Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Japan.

The report was based on data shared publicly by social media analyst firm Social Bakers on its website. Not long after the report, the firm addressed Guardian's report via a blog post of its own saying, "The Facebook stats found on our page are not primarily intended for journalists, but rather Ad estimates for marketers."

The firm went on to say that this was not the first time Guardian had misinterpreted its numbers, pointing to a January report by the publication when Social Bakers was forced to issue a similar clarification.

With Facebook scheduled to report its quarterly earnings on Wednesday, we should hear the official numbers soon enough. Whether these numbers reignite the 'Facebook fatigue' debate or put it to rest remains to be seen.

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