Technology1 min read

Cuban: Facebook knowingly runs AI deepfake scam ads; docs say $16B fraud revenue

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The controversy highlights growing frustration from business leaders like Mark Cuban, who receives weekly inquiries from elderly victims targeted by synthetic ads selling fake medical treatments. Internal platform records indicate users encountered roughly 15 billion higher-risk promotions daily, with staff estimating the network plays a role in one-third of successful American scams. Meta has rejected the revenue characterizations as an exaggerated, selective snapshot, asserting that stricter enforcement eliminated over 134 million deceptive ads in 2025.

Key points

  • Mark Cuban warned that deceptive synthetic videos using his likeness continue to defraud…: Mark Cuban warned that deceptive synthetic videos using his likeness continue to defraud vulnerable consumers with fake diabetes remedies.
  • Platform safety staff estimated in May 2025 that Meta services contribute to approximatel…: Platform safety staff estimated in May 2025 that Meta services contribute to approximately one-third of all successful scams in the United States.
  • Meta maintains that user complaints regarding scam ads dropped 58% over an 18-month span…: Meta maintains that user complaints regarding scam ads dropped 58% over an 18-month span alongside the removal of 134 million fraudulent promotions.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Mark Cuban keeps getting emails about a $294 diabetes cure he has never sold.

"Every single week I get emails from little old men and ladies saying, 'Will my cure for diabetes work?' or 'I just ordered your cure for diabetes for $294,'" the 68-year-old billionaire investor said on an August episode of Pivot, the podcast hosted by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway.

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Those ads are deepfakes built with an AI copy of his face and voice, Cuban said, and Meta (NASDAQ:META) runs them anyway. "Facebook knows the little old ladies are getting ripped off," he said.…

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