Scammers Spend $49M on Deepfake Political Ads Targeting Seniors on Meta Platforms

Scammers have exploited advances in AI technology to create deepfake videos of prominent American politicians, including President Donald Trump, to promote fake government benefits on Meta's platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) identified 63 scam advertisers spending $49 million on over 150,600 political ads, frequently targeting seniors with false claims about stimulus checks, government spending cards, and Medicare payments. Despite Meta's policies prohibiting scams and requiring political advertisers to verify their identities, lax content moderation allowed many scam ads to run for extended periods, with nearly half of the scammers continuing their activities after initial ad removals. Meta has removed numerous ads and disabled some accounts, but many scam advertisers managed to spend significant amounts before enforcement actions. This scam activity reflects a broader rise in online fraud in the U.S., with vulnerable populations increasingly at risk. Meta has pledged to invest in enhanced technical defenses to detect and prevent such deceptive advertisements moving forward.