Meta earned $7 billion year from scam ads, internal report claimed
New Delhi: Meta is facing fresh scrutiny after recent discussions with the Indian government over harmful content on its platforms. It is the latest in a series of reports that have raised doubts about the extent of fake ads on Facebook and Instagram, and the profits the social network made from them, as reported by Reuters in other older internal company documents.
At a meeting with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday, Meta reportedly recognised that substantial sums have been paid to promote specific types of content. The admission comes as no surprise, as the company has never explicitly acknowledged any connection to illegal advertising but has brought into focus reports of scam advertising on its platforms in the past.
Meta earned billions from scam ads
A Reuters investigation in November 2024 revealed that internal Meta documents indicate the company is generating almost 10 per cent of its annual advertising revenue from scam ads and ads for banned products. A study by one of its researchers put the estimated value at $7 billion per year in annualised terms for ads based on that content.
Meta was unable to effectively identify and block ads for fraudulent e-commerce offers, false investment offers, illegal online casinos and the sale of prohibited products, the report said.
Billions of risky advertisements shown daily
Another source cited by Reuters cited an internal document from December 2024 that said Meta served almost 15 billion ads a day for high-risk scams on its platforms. In general, the documents indicated that the company’s automated enforcement tools prevented advertisers from being served ads when it was at least 95 per cent sure that there was fraud.
At the time, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone pointed out that the documents offered a “selective view” of the company’s efforts. He said the internal tests were designed to help inform investments in fraud prevention, and Meta is proactively involved in the fight against scams because neither users, advertisers, nor the company would want to see that kind of content.
Internal assessments raised concerns over fraud
Reuters further reported that Meta’s internal safety teams had described the company’s platforms as becoming a major part of the global fraud ecosystem. A presentation from May 2025 reportedly stated that Meta’s services were linked to nearly one-third of all scams in the United States.
Previous internal documents also mentioned a lack of investment in automated scam detection. How many times a week do Facebook and Instagram users report a scam, and how many come in with a legitimate report but are ignored or rejected? At least 100,000 per week, according to one document from 2023 published by Reuters.
Fresh scrutiny over harmful content in India
The renewed focus on Meta comes after an NDTV investigation last month reported that Facebook and Instagram carried advertisements allegedly selling sexually suggestive videos involving children for as little as Rs 50. After the report, Meta’s global policy leadership, such as Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, was called to the office by MeitY due to concerns over child sexual abuse material (CSAM), harmful content and posts that allegedly stayed up on the platform in violation of its Community Standards.
This is the latest in a series of new regulations to come out that place pressure on Meta as governments in various countries are pushing for more action to be taken in the fight against scams, illegal advertising and harmful content on social media.