Google ads

Reporting

Scam ads are flooding social media. These former Meta staffers have a plan

Nov 6, 2025

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10 min read

Scam ads are flooding social media. These former Meta staffers have a plan

Rob Leathern and Rob Goldman, who both worked at Meta, are launching a new nonprofit that aims to add transparency to an increasingly opaque, scam-filled social media ecosystem.

Craig Silverman

Resources

The Indicator Guide to investigating digital ad libraries

Oct 14, 2025

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49 min read

The Indicator Guide to investigating digital ad libraries

Ad repositories can help with backgrounding people and companies, and with investigating influence and disinformation campaigns

Craig Silverman

Aid workers looking for jobs on LinkedIn face spammy websites, scammy recruiters, and sham listings

Sep 4, 2025

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2 min read

Aid workers looking for jobs on LinkedIn face spammy websites, scammy recruiters, and sham listings

LinkedIn deleted 27 pages with almost 6 million followers

Alexios Mantzarlis

Reporting

How Israel uses Google Ads in its information offensive against Iran

Jun 24, 2025

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1 min read

How Israel uses Google Ads in its information offensive against Iran

Ads shown millions of times in five European countries promote Israel's justification for military intervention

Alexios Mantzarlis

Reporting

AI nudifiers pivot to video and reach users via Apple, Google, Meta, Telegram, and X

Jun 2, 2025

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2 min read

AI nudifiers pivot to video and reach users via Apple, Google, Meta, Telegram, and X

Deepfake nude generators can still get ads, apps, and verified accounts approved on mainstream platforms

Alexios Mantzarlis

Reporting

Meta ran thousands of pornbait ads for fraudulent networks that monetize with Google

May 21, 2025

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2 min read

Meta ran thousands of pornbait ads for fraudulent networks that monetize with Google

Nothing says "healthy online advertising ecosystem" like deceptive ads on one platform being used to drive traffic to deceptive ads on another platform

Alexios Mantzarlis

Piracy

Feb 1, 2023

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3 min read

Investigating Google's Ad Business

Here's a methodology for identifying piracy sites making money with Google ads

Craig Silverman