News publishers file complaint accusing Mark Zuckerberg of enabling widespread scam ads
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has to provide answers to Congress by September 6. Photo: File
A coalition of Swedish news publishers has submitted a criminal complaint against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, alleging that Facebook and Instagram have hosted fraudulent advertisements impersonating journalists and media outlets. The complaint, filed on 28 November by publishers’ association Utgivarna, argues that Meta has facilitated fraud, been complicit in fraudulent activity, and enabled the preparation of fraud by allowing these scam ads to proliferate. The allegations were first reported by Press Gazette.
According to Utgivarna—which represents Sveriges Television, UR, Sveriges Radio, TV4, the national newspaper association Tidningsutgivarna, and the national magazines association Sveriges Tidskrifter—the deceptive ads misuse the names and likenesses of Swedish journalists to promote fake investment schemes. The organisation said the impersonations have caused “financial and psychological harm” to victims while generating significant revenue for Meta.
Internal Meta documents, referenced by Reuters, indicated the company earns roughly $16 billion annually from fraudulent advertising. Press Gazette has previously documented similar scams targeting UK and US media figures, including those linked to so-called “pig-butchering” schemes in which criminals build rapport with victims before soliciting money.
Utgivarna vice chair Thomas Mattsson told Press Gazette that Swedish publishers have repeatedly attempted to alert Meta to these fraudulent ads, but takedown responses have been slow or ineffective. He criticised Meta’s stance, likening its hands-off approach to “smuggling drugs” for criminal groups by enabling sponsored posts without proper content checks. Mattsson said the lack of Swedish-speaking content moderators makes it difficult for Meta to recognise fraudulent ads mimicking local media brands.
He added that, in theory, the complaint could extend responsibility to Zuckerberg as Meta’s top decision-maker.
In response to Press Gazette’s inquiry, a Meta spokesperson said that combating scams remains “one of our top priorities,” noting the company has deployed new reporting tools for businesses, partnered with industry groups, and implemented facial-recognition systems to detect impersonation ads. According to Meta, user reports of scam ads have dropped by more than 50% over the past 15 months, and more than 134 million scam advertisements have been removed in 2025.
Meta previously announced brand-protection tools in August 2025 and began testing additional facial recognition measures in 2024 to help curb “celeb-bait” scams and assist with account recovery.