Amid the heightened scrutiny of the Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta over the temporary removal of a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the company on Wednesday admitted before the Centre that a substantial
amount of money had been paid to “boost a certain type of content”, reported NDTV, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Although the admission is rare, earlier reports have claimed that the US-based firm earns revenue by hosting illegal content and fraudulent schemes on its social media platforms.
This came as a global team of Meta metIT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday, August 5, days after the Parliamentary Panel had asked the company to apologise for the error.
Revenue From Scams, Banned Goods
According to a Reuters report of November 2025, citing a secret company document, Meta had internally projected the previous year that it would earn about 10 per cent of its overall revenue by hosting advertisements for scams and banned goods.
The report suggested that Meta had failed to identify and halt ads that endorse fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes as well as the sale of banned goods. A December 2024 document, accessed by Reuters, highlighted that Meta had showed 15 billion “higher risk” scam advertisements per day to social media users.
Another document suggested that Zuckerberg-led firm had earned about a staggering USD 7 billion in annualised revenue from scam advertisements each year.
Meta’s Stance
After the report surfaced, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone had said at the time that the documents accessed by the outlet had reflected a “a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams.”
“The assessment was done to validate our planned integrity investments – including in combating fraud and scams – which we did,” he had said.
Stone had asserted the firm’s commitment to fighting fraud and scams, saying: “We aggressively fight fraud and scams because people on our platforms don’t want this content, legitimate advertisers don’t want it, and we don’t want it either”.
Zuckerberg Apologises Amid Row Over PM Modi’s Video
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday issued an apology for child sexual abuse material, deepfake content, and operational error on his platforms, NDTV reported, citing sources.
The company’s global team was summoned by the Indian government following a row over the temporary removal of PM Modi’s video, which he posted during the peak of the recent Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
India is Meta’s largest market, with hundreds of millions consuming its major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
