Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, took deliberate steps to reduce the visibility of fraudulent advertisements to regulators, internal documents reviewed by Reuters show. The effort, first observed in Japan last year, involved removing scam ads from search results in the company’s publicly searchable Ad Library, a tool designed to increase transparency for users and regulators.
According to Reuters, the ads included fake investment schemes and AI-generated celebrity endorsements. Japanese regulators had threatened to require Meta to verify the identity of all advertisers—a step the company feared would reduce fraud but also cost billions in revenue. In response, Meta launched an enforcement push that deleted scam ads from the platform and, critically, made them less discoverable in the Ad Library, effectively shaping what regulators could see.
The documents indicate Meta identified the top keywords and celebrity names used by Japanese Ad Library users to find scams. By mimicking these searches and removing problematic ads from the system, staffers created the appearance of reduced scam activity while preserving the platform’s revenue stream. Sandeep Abraham, a former Meta fraud investigator, described the tactic to Reuters as “regulatory theater,” saying it presented a misleading narrative of the company’s efforts.
Meta has since applied this approach globally, the documents show, creating what staffers referred to as a “general global playbook” to manage regulatory scrutiny in markets including the U.S., Europe, India, Australia, Brazil, and Thailand. The playbook emphasizes voluntary verification and delaying mandatory rules whenever possible, while monitoring how fraud is discoverable in each region. Reuters reporting highlights how the strategy involves manipulating search results to influence perceptions of scam prevalence.
The internal records also reveal the scale of Meta’s exposure: unverified advertisers disproportionately drive fraudulent activity, with some generating billions in revenue annually. Meta documents cited by Reuters show that implementing universal advertiser verification could block scam ads by up to 29% in individual markets, but the company avoided doing so widely due to projected revenue losses and implementation costs estimated at $2 billion.
Regulatory responses are underway. In Taiwan, mandatory verification reduced investment scam ads by 96% and identity impersonation ads by 94%, Reuters reports. Singapore authorities have demanded that Meta implement stricter checks, including facial recognition for advertisers, after noting high rates of fraud on the platforms. In the U.S., senators and the attorney general of the Virgin Islands cited Reuters reporting to push for investigations and enforcement actions against the company.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Reuters the company does not mislead users by removing scam ads and emphasized that verification is one of many tools to combat fraud. He cited a 50% decline in user reports of scams over the past year, while asserting that the company continues to block fraudulent accounts proactively.
The Reuters investigation highlights how Meta balances regulatory compliance, transparency, and revenue, revealing that the company has developed sophisticated measures to control how fraud appears to both regulators and the public. While the Ad Library remains a symbol of openness, the documents suggest its presentation can be manipulated to protect Meta’s business interests, raising questions about the effectiveness of voluntary transparency efforts.
