Nearly 20% of Meta’s Chinese ad revenue came from scams and other banned content: Report
Meta found that 19% of its $18 billion in ad sales in China last year came from ads for scams, illegal gambling, pornography, and other banned content, according a new report from Reuters that examined the company’s internal documents. The latest report comes on the heels of another Reuters investigation that found 10% of Meta’s global revenue last year came from such ads. Chinese advertisers represent a growing share of the company’s revenue.
To combat the situation, Meta created an anti-fraud team that briefly managed to cut back the rate of problematic ads, but after CEO Mark Zuckerberg weighed in, the group was disbanded. Fraud rates then returned to 16% of Meta’s China revenue by mid-2025.
The trove of documents, Reuters said, “reveals Meta’s efforts over that period to understand the scale of abuse on its platforms and the company’s reluctance to introduce fixes that could undermine its business and revenues.”
To combat the situation, Meta created an anti-fraud team that briefly managed to cut back the rate of problematic ads, but after CEO Mark Zuckerberg weighed in, the group was disbanded. Fraud rates then returned to 16% of Meta’s China revenue by mid-2025.
The trove of documents, Reuters said, “reveals Meta’s efforts over that period to understand the scale of abuse on its platforms and the company’s reluctance to introduce fixes that could undermine its business and revenues.”
