"Meta made millions off of scam ads specifically targeting seniors, according to a new report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The tech watchdog found that Meta was failing to curb malicious Medicare-related advertisements, which earned the platform $14.3 million in ad revenue in 2025. Such advertisements included false promises of "free benefits" for Medicare recipients, AI-generated celebrity deepfakes, and fake enrollment deadlines. They predominantly targeted Facebook users aged 65 or older, primarily in Texas and Florida."
"CCDH looked at 90,000 ads in Meta's ad library taken out by 30 known Medicare scammers, resulting in 215 million impressions across Facebook. According to the company, this figure is "six times the reach of all previous years on record combined." Scammer accounts had, on average, 151 ads removed by Meta. According to CCDH, "By the time those ads were removed, they had already generated 72 million impressions and earned Meta $3.7 million. Removed ads were replaced with near identical copies. Disabled accounts launched new ones.""
""Scammers are determined criminals who use increasingly sophisticated tactics to defraud people and evade detection on our platforms and across the internet," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement to NBC News. "We aggressively fight scams on and off our platforms because they're not good for us or the people and businesses that rely on our services. We removed over 159 million scam ads last year alone - 92 percent of which we took down before anyone repo"
Meta generated $14.3 million in ad revenue in 2025 from malicious Medicare-related advertisements that were not adequately curbed. The ads included false promises of “free benefits,” AI-generated celebrity deepfakes, and fake enrollment deadlines. Targeting focused on Facebook users aged 65 or older, especially in Texas and Florida. A watchdog analyzed 90,000 ads from 30 known Medicare scammers, finding 215 million impressions. On average, scammer accounts had 151 ads removed by Meta. By the time ads were removed, they had already generated 72 million impressions and earned Meta $3.7 million, and removed ads were replaced with near-identical copies while disabled accounts launched new ones.
Read at Mashable
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