Meta Faces Heat Over Celebrity Deepfake Scams on Facebook, Oversight Board Warns

Meta is under renewed scrutiny after its Oversight Board flagged a troubling rise in AI deepfake scams, particularly those misusing celebrity identities for deceptive ads. In a recent decision, the board overturned Meta’s choice to keep up a Facebook post featuring an AI-generated deepfake of Brazilian football legend Ronaldo Nazário promoting a gambling app. Despite more than 50 user reports, the ad remained online and racked up over 600,000 views before being taken down.

The Oversight Board stated this case highlights broader issues with Meta’s enforcement of its own policies against impersonation and scams. It criticized the tech giant for enabling large-scale scam content, noting that content reviewers often lack the authority and training to act on AI-generated deepfakes unless there’s a direct escalation. According to the board, reviewers face inconsistent enforcement guidelines, which vary by region, making scam detection uneven and unreliable.

The ad in question promoted a game called Plinko and was among thousands found in Meta’s Ad Library. Many of these reportedly featured deepfaked videos of other celebrities, including Cristiano Ronaldo and even Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.

The board issued a single but significant recommendation: Meta must strengthen its internal policies, empower its moderators, and train them to recognize hallmarks of AI-manipulated media. In response, Meta pushed back, saying the board’s assessment was “simply inaccurate.” The company pointed to an ongoing pilot program using facial recognition to detect such scams and emphasized its broader safety tools and enforcement strategies.

Still, Meta’s efforts appear insufficient. Earlier this year, several deepfake scam ads featuring Elon Musk and other public figures made the rounds, with some running for weeks despite clear signs of manipulation. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis recently criticized Meta publicly for failing to remove a fake ad featuring her likeness until she intervened directly.

The Oversight Board isn’t alone in raising alarms. A Wall Street Journal report revealed that nearly half of all scam reports on Zelle for JPMorgan Chase originated from Meta platforms. Regulators in the UK and Australia have also highlighted similar trends.

As AI tools become more accessible, the misuse of deepfakes for fraud is accelerating. Critics argue that without stricter ad oversight and enforcement, Meta risks becoming a breeding ground for online scams.