"Even more alarming: the social media giant estimates that every day, its platforms show users an estimated 15 billion scam advertisements that are clearly fraudulent (2). According to documents reviewed by Reuters, for three years or longer, Meta has not adequately identified and ended the deceptive advertising, exposing billions of users to fraudulent investment and e-commerce schemes, illegal online casinos and banned medical products."
"Meta's automated systems only ban advertisers if they're at least 95% certain to be committing fraud (3). Below that threshold, the company simply charges suspect advertisers higher ad rates as a penalty rather than removing them entirely. But this approach doesn't always discourage the ad placement, still allowing potential fraudulent activity to run, and Meta to profit from it. The situation worsens once you click on a scam ad."
"Meta spokesman Andy Stone disputed the characterization, Reuters reports, stating the internal revenue estimate was "rough and overly-inclusive" and included "many" legitimate ads (4). In a statement, he said, "Over the past 18 months, we have reduced user reports of scam ads globally by 58% and, so far in 2025, we've removed more than 134 million pieces of scam ad content (5).""
Internal company documents show Meta projected about 10% of its 2024 revenue (roughly $16 billion) from advertisements for scams and banned goods across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The company estimates its platforms display an estimated 15 billion clearly fraudulent scam advertisements daily. Automated systems ban advertisers only when at least 95% certain of fraud; below that threshold the company increases ad rates instead of removing advertisers, permitting continued placements and revenue. Ad personalization increases exposure for users who click scam ads. A company spokesperson called the revenue estimate overly inclusive and cited reductions in user reports and removals.
Read at Moneywise
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]