Meta Policies Fail as Nigerian Public Figures Face Facebook Deepfake Scams

What changed

Scam advertisements and deepfake videos impersonating Nigerian public figures are appearing on Facebook, including material aimed specifically at Nigerians. That is happening despite Meta’s policies prohibiting such ads.

Why it matters

The platform’s rules are not stopping the content they are meant to block. For Nigerian users, a familiar public figure can make a fraudulent message look credible before anyone has time to question it.

The key problem is the gap between a policy on paper and what remains visible in practice. The number of ads, affected users and financial losses is not yet clear, nor is Meta’s response. But the reported persistence of the scams means the impersonation itself is already a practical risk: users may encounter convincing false messages in a space where Meta says they should not be allowed.