NextFin news, WASHINGTON, Oct 2, 2025 (Thursday) – Scammers have spent an estimated $49 million on political advertisements featuring deepfake videos of American politicians on Meta’s platforms, Facebook and Instagram, according to a report released by the nonprofit watchdog group Tech Transparency Project (TTP).
The report identified 63 scam advertisers who used artificially generated videos of figures such as former President Donald Trump to promote fraudulent government benefits. These ads often targeted senior citizens with false promises of stimulus checks, government spending cards, and healthcare payments.
TTP stated that these deceptive ads have reached tens of thousands of users on Meta’s platforms, exploiting advances in artificial intelligence technology and public confusion about social safety net programs. The group criticized Meta for lax content moderation that allowed such scams to proliferate despite the company’s stated policies against scams and investments in scam prevention.
“The findings show how scammers are taking advantage of advances in artificial intelligence technology, public confusion around the status of social safety net programs, and lax Meta content moderation to target new victims,” the report said.
Meta has not publicly commented on the specific findings of the TTP report as of October 3, 2025.
The rise of deepfake technology, which uses AI to create realistic but fake videos, has increasingly been exploited for political and financial scams. The use of deepfake videos in political ads raises concerns about misinformation and the manipulation of public opinion on social media platforms.
The Tech Transparency Project’s findings highlight ongoing challenges for social media companies in policing content and protecting users from sophisticated scams that leverage emerging technologies.
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