Deepfake Political Scams on Meta: $49 Million Spent on Fake Government Benefit Ads Targeting Seniors

Oct 02, 2025 01:03 pm CST

A watchdog report reveals scammers have spent $49 million on Meta platforms creating deepfake videos of politicians like Donald Trump to promote fraudulent government benefits. These sophisticated scams primarily target seniors with fake stimulus checks and healthcare payments, exploiting artificial intelligence advances and Meta's content moderation gaps despite the platform's special authorization process for political advertisers.