Cuban says Facebook knowingly runs AI deepfake scam ads

Mark Cuban says Facebook knowingly runs AI-generated deepfake scam ads.[1] He says he has been seeing his own face in scammy ads.[1] The ads he described promoted diabetes cures that did not exist.[1] Separately, Gadget Review reported that older adults paid $294 for a diabetes cure Cuban had not endorsed.[4] These accounts concern deceptive promotions using a public figure’s likeness; the evidence provided does not establish how many ads appeared or how widely they circulated.

Meta projected that scams and ads for banned goods would account for 10% of its 2024 revenue.[2] The Verge reported that Meta projected it would earn $16 billion from scam ads.[3] These are projections, not figures described in the evidence as realized revenue. The categories in the reported scam-ad estimates included illegal online casinos, fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, and banned medical products.[3] The 10% figure covers scams and banned-goods ads together, while the $16 billion figure is specifically described as projected scam-ad revenue.[2][3]

Reuters reported that Meta’s responses to suspected rogue marketers included charging them a premium for ads.[2] Reports were also issued under the label “Scammiest Scammers.”[2] The evidence does not specify how many marketers were affected, how often premium charges were used, or whether those steps removed ads. For teams assessing platform controls, the distinction between a reported response and a demonstrated outcome matters: the available information describes the former, not a measured reduction attributable to those measures.

Senators asked the FTC and SEC to investigate Meta’s ad practices and sought penalties as part of that request.[5] They cited fake ads impersonating U.S. government officials.[5] Meta denied the senators’ allegations and claimed scam reports had fallen by 58%.[5] The evidence does not establish the outcome of the requested investigation or independently verify Meta’s reported decline. Readers should therefore distinguish the senators’ claims, Meta’s response and the revenue projections rather than treating them as adjudicated findings.