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Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during a dinner with tech leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. US President Donald Trump said he would be imposing tariffs on semiconductor imports “very shortly” but spare goods from companies like Apple Inc. that have pledged to boost their US investments. Photographer: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Will Oliver | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Meta Platforms (META) faces scrutiny following a report indicating a significant portion of its 2024 revenue may have originated from questionable advertising practices. Reuters, citing internal company documents, alleges that approximately 10% of Meta’s $164.5 billion in total sales – roughly $16 billion – stemmed from running online advertisements for scams and the promotion of banned goods.
The report details the types of advertisements in question, encompassing “fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos, and the sale of banned medical products.” These ads, according to the cited documentation, run across Meta’s prominent platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The documents reportedly reflect Meta’s internal efforts to quantify the prevalence of these potentially fraudulent advertisements on its services.
Following a robust third quarter, where Meta reported sales growth of 26% year-over-year reaching $51.24 billion, the revelations surrounding its ad revenue composition raises concerns among investors and regulators alike. This comes as Meta is aggressively investing in artificial intelligence and other long-term technological ventures, having increased its total expense guidance for the year by $2 billion.
A specific internal document from December 2024 allegedly revealed that Meta generates roughly $7 billion in annualized sales from what it classifies as “higher risk” scam ads – promotions characterized by their deceptive nature. The scale is substantial; Meta reportedly displays an estimated 15 billion of these “higher risk” scam advertisements to users each day.
While some internal documentation indicates efforts to curb the volume of misleading advertising on its platform, the Reuters report suggests a potential conflict within Meta. Some documents seemingly demonstrate concern that sharply curtailing fraudulent promotions could adversely affect the company’s projected financial performance. This highlights the inherent challenge for platforms like Meta, balancing revenue generation with ethical advertising standards and user protection.
In response to the report, a Meta spokesperson asserted the company “aggressively” combats scam and fraud advertisements across its applications. They argued that the projection attributing 10% of 2024 ad sales to such ads was “a rough and overly-inclusive estimate rather than a definitive or final figure,” clarifying that “subsequent review revealed that many of these ads weren’t violating at all.”
The spokesperson further stated, “Unfortunately, the leaked documents present a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams by focusing on our efforts to assess the scale of the challenge, not the full range of actions we have taken to address the problem.” Meta maintains that it is committed to reducing fraudulent activity on its platform while acknowledging the complexities and scale of the challenge.
The revenue figures involved have implications for Meta’s advertising verification and screening processes, adding pressure from lawmakers and industry regulators regarding the company’s responsibility in shielding users from potential digital scams. The potential balance between Meta continuing its development in AI and metaverse sectors, and its accountability to ensure ethical advertising practices, will certainly be the subject of debates in the coming months.
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