Scammers spend $49 million on Meta deepfake political advertising targeting vulnerable users

Summary

Scammers spent $49 million on Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, using deepfake videos of U.S. politicians and celebrities to promote fraudulent government benefit schemes, according to a report by the Tech Transparency Project. The investigation identified 63 scam advertisers responsible for over 150,000 political scam ads, often targeting seniors with fake stimulus checks and Medicare benefits. These ads used AI-generated deepfake videos to create a false sense of legitimacy. Despite Meta's policies against such scams and requirements for political ad verification, many ads remained online for days or weeks before removal. Nearly half of the scam advertisers were still active as of late September 2025. The incident has raised concerns about Meta's content moderation and ad review systems, prompting calls for stronger controls and transparency in online political advertising.