Meta Allegedly Made $16 Billion From Scam Ads, Keeping Bots Alive to Fund AI Growth
Internal documents suggest Meta deliberately kept 'high value accounts' active, even those accumulating over 500 'scam strikes,' because keeping them operational maximized revenue generation.
Commenters pointed to Meta profiting from scam advertising, estimating the scam ad revenue at $16 billion last year—a projected 10% of total revenue. Champoloo noted that internal estimates suggest users encounter 15 billion 'high risk' scam ads daily, alongside 22 billion organic scam attempts. technocrit claims Meta was hesitant to shut down these accounts because doing so threatened the revenue needed for AI expansion.
The consensus alleges Meta systematically profited by treating scam advertising as a revenue stream. The core conflict is whether Meta knowingly prioritized massive advertising profits over user safety to fund its AI infrastructure.
Key Points
#1Meta's revenue model allegedly profited from scam content.
The company reportedly generated $16 billion from scam ads last year, constituting about 10% of its total revenue.
#2The company allegedly kept bad accounts running to maximize income.
Meta deliberately kept 'high value accounts' active even after they amassed over 500 'scam strikes,' because this maximized revenue.
#3Scam ads used major public figures deceptively.
Champoloo noted that scam advertisements referenced real public figures, including Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
#4The sheer volume of fraudulent advertising is massive.
Champoloo cited estimates of 15 billion 'high risk' scam ads encountered daily, excluding 22 billion organic scam attempts.
#5Scam revenue was apparently earmarked for AI expansion.
Internal documents reportedly showed Meta's reluctance to shut down bad actors because the revenue was necessary for funding AI growth.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.