November 7, 2025
Clicks vs fines: place your bets
Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams
10% = $16B from shady ads; commenters say it feels way higher
TLDR: Internal docs say Meta expected about 10% of its 2024 revenue—around $16B—from scam ads and banned goods, weighing fines against cleanup. Commenters are furious and funny: some say 10% feels low, debate what counts as a scam, and point to crypto ads everywhere; trust keeps eroding.
Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, allegedly projected that roughly 10% of its 2024 cash — a jaw-dropping $16 billion — would come from scammy ads and banned goods, per internal docs shared with Reuters. The community didn’t hold back. One top comment mocked the number with the classic “pump those numbers up” meme, comparing Meta’s hustle to “the trp administration, russia or twittee.” Others rolled their eyes at the 10% figure, saying it feels way higher given how many sketchy products flood their feeds. The vibes: cynicism and comedy, with side-eye at Big Tech’s “oops, it’s hard to moderate” defense.
That’s the other bombshell: the docs suggest Meta weighed fines against lost revenue and focused enforcement where penalties are worst, while moderation cuts left most user reports ignored. Meta’s spokesperson countered that the docs are “selective” and said they fight scams aggressively. Cue debate over what even counts as a scam: users argue many ads tiptoe right up to fraud, with one noting “50% of YouTube promos are crypto scams” and reporting does nothing. The thread split between “this is business as usual” and “this is a broken ad economy.” The joke-to-outrage ratio? High. The trust level? Low.
Key Points
- •Internal Meta documents reportedly project that about 10% of Meta’s 2024 revenue would come from scam ads and banned goods, estimated at $16 billion.
- •Meta’s internal discussions weighed the cost of lost revenue from stricter enforcement against potential regulatory fines.
- •Enforcement was reportedly prioritized in regions where penalties were expected to be steepest.
- •Despite aiming to reduce fraud, cuts to Meta’s moderation team left most user-reported violations ignored or rejected.
- •Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the documents present a selective view and claimed the company aggressively fights fraud and scams.