Billionaire investor Mark Cuban revealed on the Pivot podcast that Facebook and Meta run AI deepfake scam ads using his face and voice, targeting vulnerable users. Cuban stated he receives weekly emails from elderly people asking about a $294 diabetes cure he never sold. He criticized Meta's culture, calling the platform "the worst of the worst," and argued the company tolerates scams targeting grandparents.
Internal Meta documents from late 2024 and May 2025 allegedly show the company expected $16 billion, roughly 10% of 2024 revenue, from scam and prohibited product ads. The documents indicate users see approximately 15 billion "higher risk" ads daily, with a category value of about $7 billion annually. Meta's safety staff estimated platforms contribute to a third of successful U.S. scams.
Current policy requires automated systems to flag accounts as 95% likely to be scams before banning; below that threshold, scammers pay higher rates and remain active. Meta disputes the revenue figure, calling it "rough and overly-inclusive," noting user complaints about scam ads fell 58% over 18 months and 134 million scam ads were removed in 2025. The SEC is reportedly investigating Meta over advertising tied to financial fraud.
Cuban, who co-founded Cost Plus Drugs, an online pharmacy selling low-cost generics, contrasts his legitimate business with the alleged scam ads.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing