Meta

Reporting

AI-generated doctors are dispensing dubious health advice

Jan 26, 2026

•

10 min read

AI-generated doctors are dispensing dubious health advice

Indicator identified more than two dozen social media accounts that feature synthetic doctors and medical professionals. They've racked up millions of views and engagements.

Craig Silverman

Reporting

Meta is *still* running thousands of ads for AI nudifiers

Jan 21, 2026

•

10 min read

Meta is still running thousands of ads for AI nudifiers

But hey, at least some of them appear to be scams that can’t be used to undress

Alexios Mantzarlis

Reporting

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

Nov 6, 2025

•

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

TikTok

Oct 30, 2025

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8 min read

TikTok sympathy scams use racial slurs and insults to sell products

TikTok removed close to 200 accounts after Indicator reached out

Craig Silverman

Tech platforms promised to label AI content. They're not delivering.

Oct 23, 2025

•

22 min read

Tech platforms promised to label AI content. They're not delivering.

An Indicator audit of hundreds of synthetic images and videos reveals that platforms frequently fail to label AI content

Alexios Mantzarlis, +1

Briefing

Oct 10, 2025

•

9 min read

Briefing: YouTube gives banned channels a second chance

Plus: tools for tracking sketchy ships, viewing JSON files, and more

Craig Silverman, +1

Snapchat

How to tell if a social media account is monetized

Oct 7, 2025

•

2 min read

How to tell if a social media account is monetized

Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and X are giving billions to creators. Here's how to see who's getting paid

Craig Silverman

+11

Oct 2, 2025

•

15 min read

The Indicator Guide to AI labels

We’ve collected in one place how and when major platforms label AI content

Alexios Mantzarlis

Reporting

Explicit ads for nudifiers and AI girlfriend apps continue to plague Meta

Sep 30, 2025

•

3 min read

Explicit ads for nudifiers and AI girlfriend apps continue to plague Meta

Indicator found thousands of ads that featured bare breasts and simulated sex acts

Craig Silverman

AI slop

Briefing: “The brakes are completely off at Meta”

Sep 12, 2025

•

13 min read

Briefing: “The brakes are completely off at Meta”

Plus: A tool for YouTube and Joe Rogan doubles down after falling for an AI-generated image

Craig Silverman, +1

Reporting

Meta ran 4,000 more ads for AI nudifiers. That may not be the worst part.

Sep 10, 2025

•

2 min read

Meta ran 4,000 more ads for AI nudifiers. That may not be the worst part.

The company is making it easy for the advertisers to conceal their identity

Alexios Mantzarlis, +1

Reporting

“Dress up your buddy’s wife in a tiny latex dress”: A digital fashion startup ran Meta ads for an AI app with an “undress” option

Sep 2, 2025

•

2 min read

“Dress up your buddy’s wife in a tiny latex dress”: A digital fashion startup ran Meta ads for an AI app with an “undress” option

DressX, which has raised $15 million in financing, said the ads were placed by a contractor. Meta banned the ad accounts after being contacted by Indicator

Craig Silverman

AI slop

Celebrity slop: Hoax pages thrive under Meta’s relaxed moderation

Aug 21, 2025

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2 min read

Celebrity slop: Hoax pages thrive under Meta’s relaxed moderation

Indicator identified more than 100 foreign-run Facebook pages that use AI to spread false claims about celebs like Stephen Colbert, Caitlin Clark and others

Craig Silverman

Impersonation

Briefing: AI chatbots gone wild and tips for investigating X and VSCO

Aug 15, 2025

•

9 min read

Briefing: AI chatbots gone wild and tips for investigating X and VSCO

Plus: a US academic explains why he's done with researching misinformation

Craig Silverman, +1

Reporting

How a researcher provided a critical piece of evidence in a lawsuit against Meta

Jul 31, 2025

•

2 min read

How a researcher provided a critical piece of evidence in a lawsuit against Meta

Inside a previously unreported investigative experiment that helped counter a key claim about Meta's ad system

Craig Silverman

Reporting

Hundreds of Meta ads with fake virus alerts tricked people into downloading suspicious apps

Jul 24, 2025

•

2 min read

Hundreds of Meta ads with fake virus alerts tricked people into downloading suspicious apps

The ads falsely told people that their phone had been infected with viruses, was compromised by hackers, or that their Facebook account would be permanently disabled.

Craig Silverman

OSINT

Jul 9, 2025

•

1 min read

5 new (to me) OSINT tools for researching YouTube, Meta ads, and more

How to find out if a YouTube video is monetized, analyze election and social issues ads in new ways, and refine your Google queries

Craig Silverman

Content moderation

Jun 17, 2025

•

3 min read

A first look at Meta’s Community Notes

Zuckerberg's pivot to crowdsourcing features three jacked dudes, a flirty farmer, and some useful notes

Alexios Mantzarlis

Content moderation

Briefing: X changes its verification messaging and platforms face greater liability in Brazil

Jun 13, 2025

•

13 min read

Briefing: X changes its verification messaging and platforms face greater liability in Brazil

Your must reads and must tries on the digital deception beat this week

Craig Silverman, +1

Reporting

Meta is suing the company behind a noxious network of AI nudifiers

Jun 12, 2025

•

6 min read

Meta is suing the company behind a noxious network of AI nudifiers

The platform also says it built custom tools to detect ads for AI undressers like Crush AI

Alexios Mantzarlis

Reporting

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

Jun 2, 2025

•

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

•

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

OSINT

A global scam network used fake reviews to lure customers. Here’s how you can investigate them

May 19, 2025

•

7 min read

A global scam network used fake reviews to lure customers. Here’s how you can investigate them

Google told Indicator it has referred the Pakistan-based network to the DOJ, and TrustPilot deleted reviews after we reached out

Craig Silverman

AI nudifiers

AI nudifier makes a mockery of Meta's moderation

Jan 15, 2025

•

12 min read

AI nudifier makes a mockery of Meta's moderation

Crush AI ran 8,010 ads on Facebook & Instagram, Fact-checkers and crowds are not mutually exclusive, and AI slop tops Google image results for [does corn get digested]

Alexios Mantzarlis

Content moderation

Zuck chucks fact-checkers to cosplay as Elon Musk

Jan 8, 2025

•

19 min read

Zuck chucks fact-checkers to cosplay as Elon Musk

Meta terminates fact-checking program, Matryoshka migrates to BlueSky, and Spiegel identifies MrDeepFakes

Alexios Mantzarlis

Meta

AI-generated doctors are dispensing dubious health advice

Meta is *still* running thousands of ads for AI nudifiers

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

TikTok sympathy scams use racial slurs and insults to sell products

Tech platforms promised to label AI content. They're not delivering.

Briefing: YouTube gives banned channels a second chance

How to tell if a social media account is monetized

The Indicator Guide to AI labels

Explicit ads for nudifiers and AI girlfriend apps continue to plague Meta

Briefing: “The brakes are completely off at Meta”

Meta ran 4,000 more ads for AI nudifiers. That may not be the worst part.

“Dress up your buddy’s wife in a tiny latex dress”: A digital fashion startup ran Meta ads for an AI app with an “undress” option

Celebrity slop: Hoax pages thrive under Meta’s relaxed moderation

Briefing: AI chatbots gone wild and tips for investigating X and VSCO

How a researcher provided a critical piece of evidence in a lawsuit against Meta

Hundreds of Meta ads with fake virus alerts tricked people into downloading suspicious apps

5 new (to me) OSINT tools for researching YouTube, Meta ads, and more

A first look at Meta’s Community Notes

Briefing: X changes its verification messaging and platforms face greater liability in Brazil

Meta is suing the company behind a noxious network of AI nudifiers

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

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

A global scam network used fake reviews to lure customers. Here’s how you can investigate them

AI nudifier makes a mockery of Meta's moderation

Zuck chucks fact-checkers to cosplay as Elon Musk

Meta is still running thousands of ads for AI nudifiers