A Filipino consumer fumes as she rips open a portable charger to discover she has been conned — the batteries are choked with sand, making her yet another victim of scammers on Facebook.&nbsp;AFP's fact checkers have uncovered a slew of energy-related scams proliferating on Facebook — from fake solar panel incentives in the United States to hoax electric bike giveaways in Indonesia and the sale of dud devices in the Philippines.

And the trend underscores how fraudsters worldwide profit off disinformation, casting a wide net across social media users, many of whom take the bait amid a cost of living crisis and high utility and energy costs.

"What they did was awful," the 24-year-old Filipino, Brenilyn Ayachock, vented in an online video that showed sand pouring out of the power bank as she opened it with her&nbsp;knife.

"We were expecting a good product, but this is what they sent us."

Ayachock made the purchase on what appeared to be the Facebook page of a legitimate energy device retailer, with "special offers" and "flash sales" alongside environment-friendly messages such as "turn off unnecessary lights".

The page stopped responding to her, Ayachock said, after she bought the device for 1,500 pesos ($28), a small fortune at a time of galloping inflation.

She immediately reported the page to Facebook, but it was still active as of this week.

- 'Scammers follow headlines' -

Ayachock is not the only victim as social media becomes a breeding ground for everything from bogus cryptocurrency ads, to "romance" scams and hoaxes aimed at extracting people's personal data.

Last year, the Philippines government warned against "unscrupulous" money-saving offers as consumers grappled with backbreaking utility prices.

AFP debunked Facebook posts that used doctored news reports to promote a bogus "power saving" device they claimed could slash electricity bills.

The warnings fell on deaf ears, with commercial data showing thousands of such gadgets are sold monthly. Activists say complaints in online reviews are drowned out by comments from people desperate to try anything to lower their expenses.

"Scammers follow the headlines and there isn't a day that goes by that we don't hear about how to conserve energy, rising gas and utility prices and the need for renewable energy," Amy Nofziger, director of fraud victim support at the US-based nonprofit AARP, told AFP.

"It's a wide net for scammers. Most social media sites do not thoroughly vet the ads placed on their sites, however, many users do not know this and they put their full trust in these advertisements."

The ease with which fraudsters pelt users with disinformation raises questions about the capacity of platforms like Facebook to police paid-for scam advertising that is a lucrative revenue source.

Critics, including Patricia Schouker, a fellow at the Colorado-based Payne Institute, say algorithms that prioritize content based on preferences have let scam ads prey on users most likely to engage.

- 'Scams evolving' -

A spokesperson for Meta, Facebook's owner, said it views the "threat of scams seriously" and had taken action including disabling many of the ad accounts responsible for fraud reported by AFP's fact checkers.

"The people who push these kinds of ads are persistent, well-funded, and are constantly evolving," the spokesperson said.

AFP has a global team of journalists who debunk misinformation as part of Meta's third-party fact-checking programme.

Last October, AFP debunked Facebook posts claiming free electric bikes were on offer in Indonesia after the government raised fuel prices. Meta said it had disabled pages and profiles linked to the scam.

But Hendro Sutono, a member of the citizen's group Indonesia Electric Motorcycle Community, voiced concern that fake stores offering electric bikes have cropped up on the platform — and are hard to detect.

"The schemers take pictures from the real stores and repost them on their cloned accounts, so they look really legitimate," Sutono told AFP.

Sutono said he feared fraud could tarnish the image of the electric vehicles to the extent people will give up using them.

In many cases in the United States, scammers pose as utility company representatives. One Oregon-based firm warned its consumers last year that "scams are constantly evolving" and fraudsters tried to target some of them using "Facebook messenger".

"We see a growing number of utility front groups which are organisations that appear independent but are targeting their audience via Facebook, Instagram and TikTok," Schouker told AFP.

"They amplify misinformation... while masking their true identity."

(With inputs from agencies)

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A Filipino consumer fumes as she rips open a portable charger to discover she has been conned — the batteries are choked with sand, making her yet another victim of scammers on Facebook.

A Filipino consumer fumes as she rips open a portable charger to discover she has been conned — the batteries are choked with sand, making her yet another victim of scammers on Facebook. AFP's fact checkers have uncovered a slew of energy-related scams proliferating on Facebook — from fake solar panel incentives in the United States to hoax electric bike giveaways in Indonesia and the sale of dud devices in the Philippines. And the trend underscores how fraudsters worldwide profit off disinformation, casting a wide net across social media users, many of whom take the bait amid a cost of living crisis and high utility and energy costs. "What they did was awful," the 24-year-old Filipino, Brenilyn Ayachock, vented in an online video that showed sand pouring out of the power bank as she opened it with her knife. "We were expecting a good product, but this is what they sent us." Ayachock made the purchase on what appeared to be the Facebook page of a legitimate energy device retailer, with "special offers" and "flash sales" alongside environment-friendly messages such as "turn off unnecessary lights". The page stopped responding to her, Ayachock said, after she bought the device for 1,500 pesos ($28), a small fortune at a time of galloping inflation. She immediately reported the page to Facebook, but it was still active as of this week. - 'Scammers follow headlines' - Ayachock is not the only victim as social media becomes a breeding ground for everything from bogus cryptocurrency ads, to "romance" scams and hoaxes aimed at extracting people's personal data. Last year, the Philippines government warned against "unscrupulous" money-saving offers as consumers grappled with backbreaking utility prices. AFP debunked Facebook posts that used doctored news reports to promote a bogus "power saving" device they claimed could slash electricity bills. The warnings fell on deaf ears, with commercial data showing thousands of such gadgets are sold monthly. Activists say complaints in online reviews are drowned out by comments from people desperate to try anything to lower their expenses. "Scammers follow the headlines and there isn't a day that goes by that we don't hear about how to conserve energy, rising gas and utility prices and the need for renewable energy," Amy Nofziger, director of fraud victim support at the US-based nonprofit AARP, told AFP. "It's a wide net for scammers. Most social media sites do not thoroughly vet the ads placed on their sites, however, many users do not know this and they put their full trust in these advertisements." The ease with which fraudsters pelt users with disinformation raises questions about the capacity of platforms like Facebook to police paid-for scam advertising that is a lucrative revenue source. Critics, including Patricia Schouker, a fellow at the Colorado-based Payne Institute, say algorithms that prioritize content based on preferences have let scam ads prey on users most likely to engage. - 'Scams evolving' - A spokesperson for Meta, Facebook's owner, said it views the "threat of scams seriously" and had taken action including disabling many of the ad accounts responsible for fraud reported by AFP's fact checkers. "The people who push these kinds of ads are persistent, well-funded, and are constantly evolving," the spokesperson said. AFP has a global team of journalists who debunk misinformation as part of Meta's third-party fact-checking programme. Last October, AFP debunked Facebook posts claiming free electric bikes were on offer in Indonesia after the government raised fuel prices. Meta said it had disabled pages and profiles linked to the scam. But Hendro Sutono, a member of the citizen's group Indonesia Electric Motorcycle Community, voiced concern that fake stores offering electric bikes have cropped up on the platform — and are hard to detect. "The schemers take pictures from the real stores and repost them on their cloned accounts, so they look really legitimate," Sutono told AFP. Sutono said he feared fraud could tarnish the image of the electric vehicles to the extent people will give up using them. In many cases in the United States, scammers pose as utility company representatives. One Oregon-based firm warned its consumers last year that "scams are constantly evolving" and fraudsters tried to target some of them using "Facebook messenger". "We see a growing number of utility front groups which are organisations that appear independent but are targeting their audience via Facebook, Instagram and TikTok," Schouker told AFP. "They amplify misinformation... while masking their true identity." (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Fakery and fraud: Scammers use energy crisis to cast ‘wide net’ on Facebook

Facebook sparked a fresh controversy after it&nbsp;cut off some academic researchers for "scraping" data from the platform for investigating&nbsp;the misinformation spread through political ads on the social network.

The California tech giant&nbsp;says the New York University researchers violated its terms of service and were involved in unauthorised data collection from its massive network.

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The academics, however, say the company is attempting to exert control on research that paints it in a negative light.

The NYU researchers with the Ad Observatory Project had for several years been looking into Facebook’s Ad Library, where searches can be done on advertisements running across Facebook’s products.

Facebook&nbsp;product management director Mike Clark said the accounts from the project were disabled "to stop unauthorised scraping and protect people's privacy in line with our privacy program."

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/next-great-leap-in-evolution-of-internet-why-is-facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-betting-on-metaverse-401150" hreflang="en">'Next great leap in evolution of internet': Why is Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg betting on metaverse?</a>

The access was used to “uncover systemic flaws in the Facebook Ad Library, to identify misinformation in political ads, including many sowing distrust in our election system, and to study Facebook’s apparent amplification of partisan misinformation,” said Laura Edelson, the lead researcher behind NYU Cybersecurity for Democracy.

The NYU project had been at loggerheads for months with&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;over the program, which used a browser tool to collect data on ads spreading political hoaxes, violence, and COVID-19 misinformation.

"Research cannot be the justification for compromising people's privacy," Clark said in a blog post, arguing that the researchers were collecting user names, ads, and links to user profiles even for people who did not install the browser tool or consent to the collection.

But the&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;move prompted an angry response from researchers and free-speech activists who argued the social network is blocking independent access to its internal tools.

"By suspending our accounts,&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;has tried to shut down all this work.&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;has also effectively cut off access to more than two dozen other researchers and journalists who get access to&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;data through our project, including our work measuring vaccine misinformation," Edelson added.

Facebook says it makes information on political ads available through its Ad Library and provides “privacy-protected data sets” to researchers through other means.

The row marked the latest clash for&nbsp;Facebook, which has sought to clamp down on third parties with access to private user data while at the same seeking to enable outside researchers to study its inner workings.&nbsp;

Facebook&nbsp;claims it took the action in compliance with a 2019 settlement with US regulators on user privacy in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which data was scraped for political ad targeting.

But critics said&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;needs more transparency.

"We can't allow&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;to decide what the public gets to know about&nbsp;Facebook. Independent research that respects user privacy is absolutely crucial right now," said Alex Abdo of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

"It's essential to figuring out how disinformation spreads on the platform, how advertisers exploit&nbsp;Facebook's micro-targeting tools, and how&nbsp;Facebook's system of amplification may be pushing us further apart."

Matt Bailey of the writers' free expression group PEN America said the action "is part of a larger pattern of&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;seeking to undercut or silence anyone analyzing the platforms' practices from the outside.

(With inputs from agencies)

Facebook sparked a fresh controversy after it cut off some academic researchers for "scraping" data from the platform for investigating the misinformation spread through political ads on the social network.

Facebook sparked a fresh controversy after it cut off some academic researchers for "scraping" data from the platform for investigating the misinformation spread through political ads on the social network. The California tech giant says the New York University researchers violated its terms of service and were involved in unauthorised data collection from its massive network. The academics, however, say the company is attempting to exert control on research that paints it in a negative light. The NYU researchers with the Ad Observatory Project had for several years been looking into Facebook’s Ad Library, where searches can be done on advertisements running across Facebook’s products. Facebook product management director Mike Clark said the accounts from the project were disabled "to stop unauthorised scraping and protect people's privacy in line with our privacy program." Also read| 'Next great leap in evolution of internet': Why is Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg betting on metaverse? The access was used to “uncover systemic flaws in the Facebook Ad Library, to identify misinformation in political ads, including many sowing distrust in our election system, and to study Facebook’s apparent amplification of partisan misinformation,” said Laura Edelson, the lead researcher behind NYU Cybersecurity for Democracy. The NYU project had been at loggerheads for months with Facebook over the program, which used a browser tool to collect data on ads spreading political hoaxes, violence, and COVID-19 misinformation. "Research cannot be the justification for compromising people's privacy," Clark said in a blog post, arguing that the researchers were collecting user names, ads, and links to user profiles even for people who did not install the browser tool or consent to the collection. But the Facebook move prompted an angry response from researchers and free-speech activists who argued the social network is blocking independent access to its internal tools. "By suspending our accounts, Facebook has tried to shut down all this work. Facebook has also effectively cut off access to more than two dozen other researchers and journalists who get access to Facebook data through our project, including our work measuring vaccine misinformation," Edelson added. Facebook says it makes information on political ads available through its Ad Library and provides “privacy-protected data sets” to researchers through other means. The row marked the latest clash for Facebook, which has sought to clamp down on third parties with access to private user data while at the same seeking to enable outside researchers to study its inner workings. Facebook claims it took the action in compliance with a 2019 settlement with US regulators on user privacy in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which data was scraped for political ad targeting. But critics said Facebook needs more transparency. "We can't allow Facebook to decide what the public gets to know about Facebook. Independent research that respects user privacy is absolutely crucial right now," said Alex Abdo of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. "It's essential to figuring out how disinformation spreads on the platform, how advertisers exploit Facebook's micro-targeting tools, and how Facebook's system of amplification may be pushing us further apart." Matt Bailey of the writers' free expression group PEN America said the action "is part of a larger pattern of Facebook seeking to undercut or silence anyone analyzing the platforms' practices from the outside. (With inputs from agencies)

Facebook sparks fresh controversy by cutting off research on political ads

Facebook is launching ads globally on Instagram Reels, it said on Thursday.

Facebook began testing Instagram Reels ads in India, Brazil, Germany and Australia in April. The tests ran with brands like BMW, Louis Vuitton, Netflix and Uber.&nbsp;

Facebook is aiming to monetise&nbsp;its short-form video feature.

"We see Reels as a great way for people to discover new content on Instagram, and so ads are a natural fit," said Instagram's Chief Operating Officer Justin Osofsky. "Brands of all sizes can take advantage of this new creative format in an environment where people are already being entertained."

The company said that Reels ads, which will loop and can be up to 30 seconds long, will appear between individual Reels.

(With inputs from agencies)

Facebook is launching ads globally on Instagram Reels, it said on Thursday. Facebook began testing Instagram Reels ads in India, Brazil, Germany and Australia in April.

Facebook is launching ads globally on Instagram Reels, it said on Thursday. Facebook began testing Instagram Reels ads in India, Brazil, Germany and Australia in April. The tests ran with brands like BMW, Louis Vuitton, Netflix and Uber. Facebook is aiming to monetise its short-form video feature. "We see Reels as a great way for people to discover new content on Instagram, and so ads are a natural fit," said Instagram's Chief Operating Officer Justin Osofsky. "Brands of all sizes can take advantage of this new creative format in an environment where people are already being entertained." The company said that Reels ads, which will loop and can be up to 30 seconds long, will appear between individual Reels. (With inputs from agencies)

Facebook launches ads for Instagram Reels

Coca-Cola, a major force in global advertising, announced Friday it would suspend ads on social media for at least 30 days, as platforms face a reckoning over how they deal with racist content.

"There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media," James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said in a brief statement.

He said social media companies -- which other major brands have boycotted to force changes in how they deal with hateful material -- need to provide "greater accountability and transparency."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-to-flag-all-newsworthy-posts-from-politicians-that-break-its-rules-308909">Also read:&nbsp;Facebook to flag all 'newsworthy' posts from politicians that break its rules</a>

Coca-Cola will use the pause to "reassess our advertising policies to determine whether revisions are needed," Quincey said.

The beverage giant told CNBC that the "break" does not mean it is joining the movement launched last week by African American and civil society groups.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-hides-trumps-tweet-targeting-protestors-in-washington-dc-labels-it-as-abusive-content-308136">Also read:&nbsp;Twitter hides Trump's tweet targeting protestors in Washington DC; labels it as 'abusive content'</a>

The coalition, which includes the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has been urging companies to stop advertising on Facebook, using the #StopHateForProfit hashtag.

It aims to achieve better regulation of groups inciting hatred, racism or violence on the platform.

Unilever, home to brands including Lipton tea and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, said it would stop advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the US until the end of 2020 due to the "polarized election period."

Facebook said Friday it would ban a "wider category of hateful content" in ads as the embattled social media giant moved to respond to widening protests over its handling of inflammatory posts.

Coca-Cola, a major force in global advertising, announced Friday it would suspend ads on social media for at least 30 days, as platforms face a reckoning over how they deal with racist content.

Coca-Cola, a major force in global advertising, announced Friday it would suspend ads on social media for at least 30 days, as platforms face a reckoning over how they deal with racist content. "There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media," James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said in a brief statement. He said social media companies -- which other major brands have boycotted to force changes in how they deal with hateful material -- need to provide "greater accountability and transparency." Also read: Facebook to flag all 'newsworthy' posts from politicians that break its rules Coca-Cola will use the pause to "reassess our advertising policies to determine whether revisions are needed," Quincey said. The beverage giant told CNBC that the "break" does not mean it is joining the movement launched last week by African American and civil society groups. Also read: Twitter hides Trump's tweet targeting protestors in Washington DC; labels it as 'abusive content' The coalition, which includes the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has been urging companies to stop advertising on Facebook, using the #StopHateForProfit hashtag. It aims to achieve better regulation of groups inciting hatred, racism or violence on the platform. Unilever, home to brands including Lipton tea and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, said it would stop advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the US until the end of 2020 due to the "polarized election period." Facebook said Friday it would ban a "wider category of hateful content" in ads as the embattled social media giant moved to respond to widening protests over its handling of inflammatory posts.

Coca-Cola says pausing social media advertising

Online content should be regulated with a system somewhere between the existing rules used for the telecoms and media industries, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told global leaders and security chiefs on Saturday.

Online content should be regulated with a system somewhere between the existing rules used for the telecoms and media industries, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told global leaders and security chiefs on Saturday. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Zuckerberg said Facebook had improved its work countering online election interference, and expanded on his previous calls for regulation of social media firms. "I do think that there should be regulation on harmful content. There's a question about which framework you use for this," Zuckerberg said during a question and answer session. Also Read: Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook's hands-off policy for politicians "Right now there are two frameworks that I think people have for existing industries - there's like newspapers and existing media, and then there's the telco-type model, which is 'the data just flows through you', but you're not going to hold a telco responsible if someone says something harmful on a phone line." [ Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany (Courtesy: Reuters) ] "I think where we should be is somewhere in between," he said. Facebook and social media giants including Twitter and Alphabet's Google have come under increasing pressure to better combat governments and political groups using their platforms to spread false and misleading information. Zuckerberg said he now employed 35,000 people to review online content and implement security measures. Those teams and Facebook's automated technology currently suspend more than 1 million fake accounts each day, he said, adding that "the vast majority are detected within minutes of signing up." "Our budget is bigger today than the whole revenue of the company when we went public in 2012 when we had a billion users. I'm proud of the results but we will have to stay vigilant," he said.

Zuckerberg asks Facebook to be treated "'like something between a telco and a newspaper"

Facebook&nbsp;said it would refund some advertisers after finding a bug that wrongly attributed video carousel ad clicks as clicks to the advertisers&#39; websites.

When users tried to expand and watch the video carousel on the mobile web browser, the bug inadvertently directed the click to the advertiser&#39;s website, leading to incorrect billing, the company said in a <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/05/video-carousel-ads-on-mobile-web/">blogpost</a> on Tuesday.

A video carousel ad format shows images and links within a single ad unit and also has a button that directs users to websites.

The company said it had fixed the bug, which was not found on the desktop version or the mobile app.

The impact from a billing perspective was 0.04 per cent of ad impressions, Facebook said.

Facebook in September apologised for an error in the way it measured a key metric of video viewership that significantly amplified users&#39; viewing times on its platform.

(Reuters)

The bug inadvertently directed the click to the advertiser's website, leading to incorrect billing

Facebook said it would refund some advertisers after finding a bug that wrongly attributed video carousel ad clicks as clicks to the advertisers' websites. When users tried to expand and watch the video carousel on the mobile web browser, the bug inadvertently directed the click to the advertiser's website, leading to incorrect billing, the company said in a blogpost on Tuesday. A video carousel ad format shows images and links within a single ad unit and also has a button that directs users to websites. The company said it had fixed the bug, which was not found on the desktop version or the mobile app. The impact from a billing perspective was 0.04 per cent of ad impressions, Facebook said. Facebook in September apologised for an error in the way it measured a key metric of video viewership that significantly amplified users' viewing times on its platform. (Reuters)

Facebook?to reimburse some advertisers after discovering bug

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Fakery and fraud: Scammers use energy crisis to cast ‘wide net’ on Facebook

Facebook sparks fresh controversy by cutting off research on political ads

Facebook launches ads for Instagram Reels

Coca-Cola says pausing social media advertising

Zuckerberg asks Facebook to be treated "'like something between a telco and a newspaper"

Facebook?to reimburse some advertisers after discovering bug