Social media behemoth Meta has stepped up efforts to suppress bogus celebrity ads in Europe and South Korea, targeting misleading marketing campaigns that harness forged pictures of high-profile individuals. The action follows increased alarm over spurious ads deceiving users into scams, sham endorsements, and investment rackets.
Such manipulative ads, which tend to be based on AI-created or AI-altered images of influencers, have proven to be common across Facebook and Instagram. Followers are commonly convinced that public leaders are supporting finance products, treatments for beauty, or schemes on how to gain wealth quickly. Meta has vowed to improve the AI-based discovery tools and enforcement of its moderation policies for contents to stem such deceptive material.
Regulators in both regions have been urging tech firms to take tougher action against deceptive online advertising. European regulators have cautioned that deepfake technology is making such scams more difficult to spot, and South Korean regulators are advocating tougher legislation to compel platforms to take responsibility for carrying fraudulent content.
Meta’s recent crackdown is part of its overall strategy to improve user trust and safety. The company encourages users to report suspicious ads and has vowed to work with authorities to catch fraudsters using social media for profit. As fake celebrity endorsements keep changing, platforms will have to keep up with strong verification and AI-based moderation tools.
