A telltale clue reveals shady ads on Facebook and Instagram

A study by Cybersecurity for Democracy at the NYU Center for Cybersecurity revealed widespread policy violations in Facebook and Instagram ads linking to Telegram. The research, led by Professor Damon McCoy, Senior Fellow Yaël Eisenstat, and Laura Edelson (Assistant Professor, Northeastern University), found that over half of the first 50 examined ads violated Meta's policies. The finding shows how bad actors online use mainstream social networks such as Facebook and Instagram as a front door to lure users into shady or illegal schemes that transpire on Telegram — and how Meta, perhaps inadvertently, profits from the practice.