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Internal document reveals how much Meta made from fraudulent ads last year

Mark Zuckerberg struggles to answer phone call during 'super intelligence' Meta demonstration
  • Internal documents reportedly reveal Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, projected earning 10 per cent of its 2024 revenue, approximately $16 billion, from fraudulent ads.
  • These revenue streams reportedly include e-commerce and investment scams, illegal online casinos, and the sale of banned medical products across its platforms.
  • The documents suggest Meta failed for at least three years to effectively identify and stop a vast number of these ads, with an estimated 15 billion 'higher risk' scam ads shown daily, generating around $7 billion annually.
  • Meta's internal policy reportedly bans advertisers only if there is a 95 per cent certainty of fraud; otherwise, it charges higher ad rates as a penalty.
  • A Meta spokesperson disputed the documents as a 'selective view' that distorts its approach, stating the 10.1 per cent estimate was 'rough and overly-inclusive,' while affirming efforts to combat fraud and scams.
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