Meta issued an official response on September 18, 2026, disputing a recent report by the Instrat Foundation concerning fraudulent advertisements in Poland.
The report accuses Meta of failing to effectively combat deceptive ads, but Meta emphasizes that the document is based on erroneous assumptions and imprecise definitions. For example, the report incorrectly classifies all ads removed by Meta as fraudulent, whereas the platform’s systems also remove ads for other reasons, such as intellectual property violations or formatting issues.
Meta also criticizes the methodology used to estimate the revenue generated by these ads. The report multiplies data points, two of which are assumptions (view frequency and reach) and one an estimate (cost per thousand impressions), which distorts the results. Notably, the reach data used pertains to the entire European Union, not specifically Poland, thereby inflating the figures.
Finally, Meta points out that the profile used to observe the ads in the report was an account intentionally created with specific settings, limiting the representativeness of the conclusions.
Meta states it is actively working with advanced artificial intelligence tools and in collaboration with law enforcement to combat these fraudulent ads, and regrets that the report does not reflect this reality.
