Key points from this report:

• Meta has allowed a network of Facebook pages to run more than 110,000 ads for fake U.S. government benefits and dubious offers of “free” Trump merchandise.
• The scam network is made up of 232 Facebook pages that have collectively spent over $13 million on advertising on Meta platforms.
• Many of the ads use fake audio of Donald Trump or President Joe Biden to promote the scams and give them an air of legitimacy.
• Dozens of Facebook pages in the network are managed from foreign countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.
• Several of the pages have been hacked or stolen from public figures, including a Fox News meteorologist and an actress-producer.

This month, the verified Facebook page for Jim Heath, an Arizona-based journalist, ran more than a dozen ads offering a “smart way to handle $20,000 or more in debt.” Over video of Donald Trump at campaign rallies, one ad said, “There’s absolutely no reason Americans should have $0 in their bank accounts.” It encouraged people to apply for a “2024 Emergency Loan Plan,” telling them to tap a link “before the offer expires.”

But the ads were a surprise to Heath, who said his page was hacked and he lost control of it. For weeks, the page showed it was managed from Vietnam on behalf of something called “Heath for American Benefits Group”—an entity Heath said he’s never heard of before. Heath said he made daily attempts to reach Facebook and received no response, and was not able to post his election news updates.

“It’s beyond frustrating that a billion-dollar company, which holds all of our personal information, doesn’t seem to have anyone on the front end for customer support,” Heath wrote in an email. “It’s both frustrating and scary because I have no idea what’s going to happen next with my page.”

Heath later regained control of his page, but his hacked account is not an isolated case. A new Tech Transparency Project (TTP) investigation found that it's part of an extensive network of Facebook pages that has been pumping out ads for fake U.S. government benefits and dubious offers of “free” Trump 2024 merchandise.

The pages have collectively spent over $13 million to run more than 110,000 ads on Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta platforms since 2020, the investigation found. Some pages have been managed by users in foreign countries including Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines, and several were hacked or stolen from public figures, including a Fox News meteorologist and an actress-producer.

The ads often promote fictitious U.S. stimulus payments or “health credits” and offer to help people sign up for them. Others urge users to take a poll to get a “free” Trump-themed flag or coin, provided they pay for shipping—a tactic that has sparked consumer complaints about surprise monthly membership charges turning up on credit card bills. The ads frequently use fake audio of Trump or President Joe Biden to give the offers an air of legitimacy.

The findings show how Meta allows unscrupulous actors to make heavy use of its advertising machinery—and profits handsomely from such activity. This is part of a pattern: TTP has previously documented how drug dealers and gun traffickers make frequent use of Meta advertising to sell their products in violation of the company’s policies.

TTP combined data and shared analyses of this scam ad network with ProPublica and Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, which produced their own investigation. Many of the pages in this network have been deleted, including some during the course of TTP's research, but 54 remained active as of this week and the network has continued to regenerate, with new pages popping up on a regular basis.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment on TTP's findings. But in a statement to ProPublica, the company said it welcomed the publication's investigation into the scam activity, adding that "our enforcement systems had already detected and disabled a large portion of the Pages — and we reviewed and took action against the remainder of these Pages for various policy violations.”

Meta also said, "This is a highly adversarial space, and we continue to update our enforcement systems to respond to evolving scammer behavior.”

The ads in this network are connected via the "paid for by" disclaimer information they show in the Meta Ad Library. The disclaimers all link to the same "Savings Tips Daily" page promoting Medicare dental coverage on one of three websites: patriotdemocracy.com, tacticalempowerment.com or informedempowerment.com. These pages link in turn to the same privacy policy. (All of the ads in this network are categorized as being about “social issues, elections and politics,” which Meta requires to have a disclaimer.)

The ads often use footage of Trump or Biden to make them seem official. For example, the hacked Facebook page of Fox News meteorologist Adam Klotz ran an ad on Facebook and Instagram from Dec. 11 to Dec. 12, 2023, that flashed the message “Live: New Stimulus Program Update.” The ad showed Trump speaking, but the audio, which sounded similar to Trump, did not match his mouth movements. The Trump-like audio stated, “If you’re feeling a pinch with the bills, I’ve got something for you,” and went on to promote a $6,400 payment that is “part of a hush-hush year-end incentive by the state.” The ad linked to a website to learn more.

Fact checkers have repeatedly debunked claims that the U.S. government is sending people $6,400, calling it a scam.

This ad violated Meta’s policies, which state that ads “must not promote products, services, schemes or offers using identified deceptive or misleading practices, including those meant to scam people out of money or personal information.” Meta says it may also add an information label to manipulated media that “creates a particularly high risk of materially deceiving the public on a matter of public importance.” The evidently fake Trump audio in the above ad appeared to meet that definition but did not show a label.

Klotz did not respond to a request for comment, but he confirmed to ProPublica through a spokesperson that his page was hacked, adding, "I had no idea that ads were being run until you reached out.”

The Meta Ad Library shows that the page has spent $38,246 on ads since December 2023, though most of the ads now display a notice from Meta stating that they were “run by an account or Page we later disabled for not following our Advertising Standards.” 

Another Facebook page called “USA Stimulus Fund” ran an ad on Facebook and Instagram in May 2024 that urged people to “Claim Your $6400 Subsidy 💵” and showed a video of Biden encouraging Americans to claim the “free money.” However, the movements of the president’s mouth did not always match the words, indicating the audio was a fake or altered version of his voice. The ad directed users to the website ushealthsubsidy.com, which is no longer active.

This ad violated the same Meta policies described above and did not carry a label despite clearly qualifying as “manipulated media.” By mimicking Biden, the ad may also run afoul of Federal Trade Commission rules, which prohibit government impersonation.

The USA Stimulus Fund page ran at least 265 ads and spent more than $13,800 on Meta ads before it was unpublished or deleted. The page showed it was managed from the U.S., Colombia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Thousands of ads in the network have sought to lure Trump supporters with dubious offers of “free” Trump merchandise.

One Facebook page called “Frontier of Freedom” ran an ad on Facebook and Instagram in September 2024 that opens with an interview of an unidentified man on the street who says “F*ck Kamala,” mocks her laugh, and says she and other Democrats should go to jail. The ad then cuts to video of the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, interspersed with clips of a speech by Trump’s son, Eric Trump, at the 2024 Republican National Convention. At one point, the ad switches to a fake version of Eric Trump’s speech, which urges users to take a poll in exchange for a free gift. During this part of the video, the movements of Eric Trump’s mouth no longer match his voice, indicating the audio has been manipulated or digitally created.

Users are routed through a series of websites to take the poll and collect their gift. A final site prompts them to enter their credit card information to pay for shipping on a “free” Trump 2024 flag and commemorative coin. However, at the bottom of the page, below the “complete my order” button, there is a small print notice informing people that they are actually signing up for a monthly membership costing $79.97.

A March 2024 report from Forbes, which identified some of the pages in this network, described a similar tactic, in which ads encourage Trump supporters to take a poll to receive a free Trump flag, provided they pay for shipping and handling. The report cited multiple victims who said they were surprised to get unwanted “membership” charges on their credit card bills. According to the report, the sites that processed the credit card transactions included “very fine print” that customers would be signed up for club memberships.

This kind of tactic may violate Meta’s policies against “deceptive and misleading practices.” The fake Eric Trump audio in the above ad also meets Meta’s definition of "manipulated media" but did not show a label.

The FTC warns consumers to be “suspicious of companies that offer something free but say you have to pay to get it,” saying they can be a red flag for a scam. The agency also prohibits so-called negative options—recurring charges that consumers do not want and are hard to cancel.

Another ad that ran on Facebook and Instagram from June 20 to July 10, 2024, on a page called “Patriot Sanctuary” opens with a video of former President Barack Obama speaking at a rally and appearing to be drowned out by crude anti-Biden chants. This video, which has made the rounds on social media, takes a real Obama appearance at a Detroit rally and alters the audio to add the chanting, according to a Reuters fact check. After showing the manipulated Obama video, the ad pivots to clips of Trump and pro-Trump crowds, with a voiceover encouraging viewers to take a poll to show their support for the former president and receive a “free Trump 2024 ‘In God We Trust’ hat and gold coin.”

Once users complete the poll, they are directed to another website to claim their gift. As with the previous examples, users must enter their personal and credit card information to pay for the shipping and handling.

The Facebook page that ran the above ad, “Patriot Sanctuary,” spent more than $323,000 on Meta ads before it was unpublished or deleted.

One Facebook page called “Patriot Pro Supply” ran an ad on Facebook and Instagram starting on October 7, 2024, that promotes a gold coin with the images of Trump and running mate JD Vance. The ad showed what appeared to be an AI-generated news anchor who said, “A limited edition Trump-Vance coin has hit the market featuring none other than the handsome devils themselves.” The anchor warns that “left-wing radical groups” are “campaigning to ban the coin from online platforms,” and tells people to act fast to place their orders. The ad linked a website for the “Patriot Pros Network” with coin purchase options ranging from $6.99 to $39.99.

A version of the ad posted to the Patriot Pro Supply Facebook page drew multiple complaints from users, including one who warned that the company charged surprise recurring fees. That echoes complaints about the website posted on the Trustpilot consumer review site.

A Facebook page called “Stars and Stripes Supply” ran seven versions of the same ad in August-September 2024. Meta removed three of the seven ads from its Ad Library for violating the company’s advertising policy on “unacceptable business practices,” which covers fraud and scams. But Meta did not remove the four other ads, even though its systems identified them as containing the same content. (The page behind the ads is no longer active.)

The hacked page of Fox News meteorologist Adam Klotz ran another ad on Facebook and Instagram on Dec. 11, 2023, that shows a clip of a Trump saying in a speech, “We will never, ever surrender,” with dramatic music playing in the background. (The speech appears to be from a December 2020 campaign rally.) A voice then talks about the need to “get Trump back in office,” adding, “Are you in?” It urges supporters to take a poll to get a free Trump flag. The ad in this case doesn’t link to a poll but instead links to a flag for sale on an unofficial Trump merchandise website called Republican Dogs. The Better Business Bureau gives the site an F rating, with multiple consumers complaining that they never received the items they ordered.

The Trump merchandise in these ads does not appear to be connected to the actual Trump campaign, which has said its gives a “seal of approval” to entities that are authorized to use Trump’s name and likeness to distinguish them from scams. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Some of the ads in the network also pushed the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory.

The Facebook page “USA Patriot” ran a pair of QAnon-themed ads in July 2024. One ad showed a picture of Trump at a campaign rally with someone holding a sign that reads, “WE ARE Q,” while the other showed a man in a crowd holding up a giant letter “Q” in the colors of the American flag. Both ads urged people to buy an e-book to prepare for “what’s to come,” pointing to a link that is no longer active. An archived version of the linked page shows the book was titled, “Q: Unraveling The Truth.”

QAnon followers believe Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles and child sex traffickers. Meta banned QAnon across its platforms in 2020, calling it a “violence-inducing conspiracy network.” The conspiracy theory has spread widely online in recent years, and its followers had a visible role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The USA Patriot page spent more than $120,000 on over 250 political ads on Meta platforms before it was unpublished or deleted. The page’s cover photo and some of its posts showed men with hats, shirts, and flags of the Patriot Front, which the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describes as a “white nationalist hate group.” Facebook has previously banned the Patriot Front, according to an internal blacklist of “dangerous individuals and organizations” leaked by The Intercept in 2021.

The ads in this network also pushed a scam offering a variety of health care benefits that do not exist.

One Facebook page called “Your Great America” ran an ad on Facebook and Instagram in July 2024 offering to help people claim a $1,400 “health credit.” The ad text reads, “The Affordable Care Act has just been updated — and with it, the chance to secure your $1,400 credit has been renewed!” It adds: “If you're an American earning under $60k a year, you may qualify for this exceptional offer.”

The ad links to a website where a bot called “Emily from Health Benefits” asks a series of questions and directs the user to call for more information. A small print disclosure at the bottom of the pages states that the site is “not affiliated with the Affordable Cares [sic] Act” and “may receive paid compensation for clicks or sales produced from the content found on this webpage.”

An AFP fact check from March 2023 found that Facebook ads about new “health credits” are false and that there is no such government program. The article quoted an FTC official as saying consumers should go directly to a government agency to confirm the accuracy of information about benefit programs circulating on social media. Meta’s Community Standards bar content that “[f]alsely offers money from government grants or any other governmental source of funding.”

The Your Great America page spent more than $30,000 on political ads before it was unpublished or deleted, the Meta Ad Library shows.

Multiple Facebook pages in this network have also pushed dubious health insurance offers in Spanish. One Facebook page called “Seguro Medico” ran an ad from Oct. 16, 2023 to Jan. 31, 2024, which suggested that Dominicans could benefit from Biden’s “expansion” of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. The ad said Biden’s action “qualifies thousands of Venezuelans to receive free health insurance,” implying that Dominicans could do the same. The ad showed a photo of Biden signing a document in the Oval Office.

The Biden administration did announce an extension of Venezuela’s TPS status in September 2023, but the Dominican Republic is not on the U.S. government’s list of TPS-designated countries. 

The Seguro Medico page spent more than $175,000 on Meta advertisements before it was unpublished or deleted in October.

Another ad from “Business Tax Secrets,” which ran on Facebook and Instagram on Nov. 10, 2023, stated in Spanish, “Do you want money to pay for everyday expenses like food, gas or rent? This new government program provides $6,400 to eligible Americans.” The ad linked to a website that prompted users to fill out a survey about health insurance that, regardless of the response given, told users they had “prequalified” for a health subsidy and urged them to call a number to claim the money “before the deadline ends.”

While the ad didn’t specifically mention a stimulus payment, it used the $6,400 number featured in the previously mentioned Facebook videos about a fake stimulus payment. The Business Tax Secrets page spent more than $184,000 on over 2,200 political ads before it was unpublished or deleted.

Dozens of Facebook pages in this network showed they had page managers located in foreign countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Colombia, Brazil, and Israel.

As pages running ads on social issues, elections, or politics in the U.S., they would have been required to provide a U.S. ID and U.S. residential address to get Meta’s approval to do this kind of advertising. However, as TTP has documented in previous reports, there is a robust black market on Facebook for the sale of pages that have already received authorization to run political ads, including in the U.S. This market violates Meta policies but has operated openly for years. It allows unscrupulous actors to obtain Facebook pages under someone else’s identity and use them to advertise on Meta platforms. 

TTP was not able to determine if the page managers in this network directly received ad authorization from Meta or acquired the pages on Facebook’s black market, but many of the countries where the managers are located, like Vietnam and Philippines, have a reputation for being home to social media hacking operations. Meta has announced enforcement actions against hacking groups in Vietnam and Bangladesh.

In addition to Arizona journalist Jim Heath and Fox News meteorologist Adam Klotz, TTP identified two other public figures whose Facebook pages were hijacked to take part in this scam network. One is for actress and producer Allisyn Snyder, who said she lost control of her page during a November 2023 podcast interview, when someone asked her to change a setting on her Facebook account.

“I tried reaching out to Facebook to regain access, but they make it extremely difficult to contact them for help. I never received any responses,” Snyder told TTP in an email.

Snyder’s page showed it was managed from the Philippines, Vietnam, and the U.S. The page has since been deleted.

Another Facebook page in this network is for a local television anchor. The anchor, who asked that TTP not give his name for privacy reasons, said his page was hacked in March 2023. The page is currently managed from the Philippines and was used to run more than $45,000 in scam ads.

“Facebook was absolutely zero help in trying to recapture or shut down that page. In fact, they were initially hostile to me in my efforts,” the anchor told TTP. “I was eventually able to set up a new page. I had no idea what the old page was being used for until you let me know.” 

All of these pages had blue verification badges, which are given to accounts that are owned by a “notable person, brand, or entity” or that have paid Meta for verified status.

The ultimate goal of the Facebook pages in this network appears to be scamming users, but they often promote Trump at the same time. When pages do this—and they’re managed from foreign countries—it raises questions about potential foreign election interference.

Take the Facebook page called “Truly American,” which had managers in the Philippines, Israel and the U.S. It ran a September 2024 ad that showed a clip from a Trump speech and stated, “In 2024 President Trump is our last and only hope to set things right.” The ad then directed people to a poll to receive a free Trump 2024 flag and gold coin. 

Another August 2024 ad from a page called “Chris Lee,” which listed page managers in Bangladesh and the U.S., said “They convicted your favorite American candidate”—an apparent reference to Trump—“to distract you from what’s really happening.” The ad goes on to promote a “grocery spending card” worth $3,600 for senior citizens.

Meta took major heat in the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. election campaign over revelations that Russian operatives used stolen identities on Facebook and Instagram to run ads promoting Trump and stoking social divisions. Since then, the company has announced multiple takedowns of foreign influence operations, often referred to as “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” and today the company boasts it has “advanced security operations to take down manipulation campaigns and identify emerging threats.”

Meta has a problem keeping bad actors out of its lucrative advertising engine. The vast network detailed in this investigation has pushed scams on Facebook for years—often aimed at Trump supporters and people looking for government assistance. Meta has disabled many of the pages involved in this network (often after they’ve done a significant amount of advertising), but others remain active and new ones are popping up on a regular basis. Until the company does a better job of enforcing its advertising standards, scammers like these will continue to operate freely on Facebook.