Controversy Over "Meta Earned 23 Trillion Won From Fraudulent Ads Last Year"... Company Denies "Distortion" Claims

"10% of Last Year's Sales Attributed to Fraudulent Ads," Internal Report Claims

An internal report has revealed that approximately 10% of advertising revenue at Meta, the world’s largest social networking service (SNS) company, is generated from ‘fraudulent advertisements,’ sparking potential controversy. Meta has strongly refuted the claim, arguing that the figures are distorted.

According to U.S. business media outlets such as CNBC on November 6 (local time), citing Meta’s internal report, it is estimated that $16 billion (about 23.3 trillion won), equivalent to 10% of Meta’s sales last year, came from fraudulent advertisements.

Meta logo. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Fraudulent advertisements include false e-commerce, investment scams, illegal online gambling, and the sale of prohibited medical products. According to the internal report, such fraudulent ads generated an average annual revenue of $7 billion (approximately 10.21 trillion won). The media pointed out that “Meta exposes users to about 15 billion high-risk scam ads every day.”

It is reported that Meta uses an automated system to determine whether advertisements are illegal or fraudulent. This system blocks ads only when the probability of fraud exceeds 95%. If the probability is below 95%, instead of blocking the ad, Meta imposes higher advertising fees. Additionally, users who click on a scam ad risk being repeatedly exposed to similar ads according to the algorithm.

However, in response to these claims, a Meta spokesperson issued a statement asserting that the company is actively addressing fraudulent ads on its applications.

The spokesperson explained, “The prediction that 10% of the company’s ad revenue in 2024 was generated from false ads is not a final figure, but rather a rough and overly broad estimate,” adding, “In fact, subsequent reviews showed that a significant number of the ads suspected of being fraudulent did not actually involve illegal activity.”

The spokesperson further pointed out, “The leaked report distorts Meta’s approach to fraud by narrowing it to a selective perspective.”