Meta earns billions of dollars from fraudulent ads on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp

Meta estimates that fraud may account for 10 percent of the company’s revenue by 2024.

According to a new report from Reuters, Meta makes billions of dollars every year by advertising scams and illegal products on its platform. The report provides shocking details of the volume of fraudulent advertising on Meta’s platforms and once again raises the question of why the company has failed to curb the problem.

Meta estimated last year that fraudulent ads may account for up to 10% of its revenue; A figure equivalent to 16 billion dollars! This includes ads related to “fake e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos and the sale of prohibited medical products.” In fact, the scope of fraud on Meta platforms is so widespread that the company’s researchers estimate that Meta apps are responsible for one-third of all successful fraud in the United States.

This problem may not seem alarming at all; Especially when we consider the standards set by Meta for its platform users, but the Reuters report shows how high the stakes are for Meta; According to the report, just four ad campaigns that were removed by Meta this year have brought in $67 million in revenue for the company.

At the same time, the mentioned report points out that the company’s executives have been faced with the challenge of how to control fraudulent advertisements without having a negative impact on the company’s income. At one point, executives were advised to “avoid actions that may cost Meta more than 0.15 percent of the company’s total revenue.”

In response to the report, Meta told Reuters that the estimate of 10 percent of fraudulent ad revenue was “approximate and overstated,” but did not provide an alternative figure. “Andy Stone” (Andy Stone), the company’s spokesperson, has said the following regarding this matter:

In the past 18 months, we’ve reduced user reports of fraudulent advertising globally by 58%, and by 2025, we’ve removed more than 134 million fraudulent ad content.