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Fake news ads with alleged cybercrime rampant on Meta platforms
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A screenshot from March 15, 2025, shows a clone website posing as 'The Jakarta Post' with a fake news article linked to an ad found on Meta's Facebook platform. (JP/Deni Ghifari)
M
eta has been approving advertisements posing as news articles of legitimate local and international media outlets, which cybersecurity experts say could lead to cybercrime.
The ads typically involve sensationalist make-believe headlines as clickbait, which, in the least worrying consequence could lead to misinformation but may even expose users to financial crime.
In the latest case, The Jakarta Post stumbled upon an advert containing the Post’s own logo and layout elements and depicting President Prabowo Subianto with a bruised left eye, along with the fake headline “He didn’t realize the camera was on” and a subtitle reading “Is this really the end of his career?”
“The tragic end of Prabowo Subianto. Morning news for all the people of Indonesia!” was the caption posted by the advertiser.
Meta Ad Library, a public portal that contains ad information posted on Meta’s platforms, detailed that the ad had been put up by what it claims to be an advertising agency called Raleigh Wolff, operating from Ukraine.
According to Ad Library, the ad has been online since March 5 on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. It was also put up on Meta Audience Network, which is a collection of Meta’s partner mobile apps and websites that run ads.
The Post saw the ad on Facebook earlier this month and flagged it on the social media platform, reporting it as “impersonation”. However, it was still up on Sunday, though it had been down for a brief time in between.
