One document allegedly stated that Meta earned about $7 billion from the circulation of certain scam ads in 2024.
It would appear that as much as Meta (formerly Facebook) would love users to fully believe it is dedicated to keeping them safe as they explore its social platforms, it’s also making a significant amount of ad money off of scam and fraudulent ads.
That information comes from internal financial documents at Meta that were obtained and reviewed by Reuters. Reportedly according to these documents, Meta internally projected in 2024 that it would earn about 10 percent of its full-year revenue from allowing advertisements that were scams are offering banned goods...
One document allegedly stated that Meta earned about $7 billion from the circulation of certain scam ads in 2024.
It would appear that as much as Meta (formerly Facebook) would love users to fully believe it is dedicated to keeping them safe as they explore its social platforms, it’s also making a significant amount of ad money off of scam and fraudulent ads.
That information comes from internal financial documents at Meta that were obtained and reviewed by Reuters. Reportedly according to these documents, Meta internally projected in 2024 that it would earn about 10 percent of its full-year revenue from allowing advertisements that were scams are offering banned goods. Other documents chronicle a massive influx of fraudulent e-commerce, investment, gambling, and medical product ads that reportedly went unidentified and unstopped for about three years across its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms.
Documents alleging Meta’s revenue from fraudulent ads resemble allegations by 2021 whistleblower Frances Haugen, who claimed the company lessened safeguards in a “profit over safety” rhetoric.
Source: Matt McClain/Getty Images
Other documents from December 2024 claimed that Meta was showing its platform users a supposed 15 billion “higher risk” ads daily that could be clearly identified as scams, and pulled about $7 billion annualized revenue.
This would be far from the first time that Facebook and Meta have been in hot water for prioritizing revenue over the safety of its users. Many will recall in 2021 before the company’s switch to the Meta name, when whistleblower Frances Haugen exposed a direction in the company in which it lessened toxic and misinformation safeguards on Facebook because they were damaging to the platform’s engagement, citing a “profit over safety” priority at the company.
It seems those sentiments are echoed in these latest allegations. How or if Meta answers these allegations remains to be seen. Stay tuned to the Meta topic for more news and updates.
Senior News Editor
TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on BlueSky @JohnnyChugs.
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