New internal documents show Meta earned large sums from ads tied to scams and banned products on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Late last year, the company’s own papers estimated about 10% of its yearly revenue, roughly $16 billion, came from fake e‑commerce schemes, illegal online casinos, shady investments, and banned medical items. The files also say the platforms ran an average of 15 billion “higher risk” scam ads each day in December 2024. One document puts annualized revenue from that group of ads at about $7 billion.
The records say Meta often flagged suious advertisers, but acted only when its systems were at least 95% sure a seller was committing fraud. If the systems were less sure, Meta did not ban the advertisers; instead, it raised their ad costs as a deterrent.
People who clicked scam ads then tended to see more of them, the documents say, because Meta’s ad system shows users more ads based on what they interact with. The papers were made between 2021 and this year and came from teams in finance, lobbying, engineering and safety.
Outside experts said it is worrying that Meta kept earning from suspected fraud. One former safety investigator noted the gap between what regulators allow for other industries and what happens in online ads.
Meta pushed back, saying the documents “present a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams.” The company also called its internal revenue estimate “rough and overly-inclusive.”
Wow, can you believe Meta made billions from a scam and then banned ads? What a rollercoaster of a read!
Wow, can you believe Meta made billions from a scam? I always knew they were shady, but this takes it to a whole new level.
Wow, can you believe Meta made billions from a scam and banned ads? Thats wild, wonder what their next move will be.
Wow, can you believe Meta might have made billions from a scam? Thats some shady business right there. Time to rethink our digital trust.
Wow, did Meta really make billions from a scam? Thats insane if true. We need more transparency in tech!
Wow, can you believe Meta made billions from a scam? Unbelievable, right? Whats next, aliens running Facebook?
Wow, can you believe Meta made billions from scams? Thats insane! How can we trust anything they say now?
Wow, can you believe Meta made billions from a scam and banned ads? Talk about shady business practices. Whats next, right?