Meta’s Annual Revenue from Scam Ads Estimated at Nearly 10 Percent

A significant portion of the revenue earned by Meta Platforms (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp)—one of the world’s largest technology companies—reportedly comes from fraudulent advertisements. This sensational information has surfaced in a report by the international news agency Reuters.

Reuters stated that, according to Meta’s own internal calculations, approximately 10 percent of their total annual revenue for 2024 (around $16 billion) originated from fake and fraudulent advertisements. Internal documents reviewed suggest that over the past three years, the company has failed to take effective action to block the promotion of illegal gambling, bogus investment schemes, and prohibited pharmaceuticals. Such advertisements often promise products or services that do not exist in reality, leading to the general public being scammed.

The report further mentions that although Meta possesses an automated system to detect fraudulent ads, the company only deactivates an advertiser’s account when they are 95 percent certain the advertisement is fraudulent. Until then, Meta collects an extra advertising fee from these suspected advertisers. While their stated goal is to discourage future advertising, in reality, the ads remain active, and Meta’s revenue continues to increase through them.

In response to these serious allegations, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Reuters, “The report misrepresents Meta’s policies.” He claimed that over the past 18 months, Meta has been able to reduce user complaints related to fraudulent advertisements by 58 percent and has removed more than 134 million fake ads.

According to experts, if Meta were truly prioritizing user safety, the ad verification process would be much stricter. Instead, it now appears that the path to revenue generation has become more important to the company, even at the cost of damaging user trust.

Technology experts have warned that the proliferation of fraudulent advertisements on social media—where billions of people share their information—is not just an economic risk; it is a major threat to user trust and security. Experts caution that if Meta does not take rigorous steps immediately, the tech giant risks losing user confidence and ultimately harming its own brand value in the future.