#FactCheck -AI-Generated Crowd Video Falsely Tied to Epstein Files Release

Executive Summary:

A video of people throwing rocks at vehicles is being shared widely on social media, claiming an incident of unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, India. However, our thorough research has revealed that the video is not from India, but from a protest in Kenya on 25 June 2025. Therefore, the video is misattributed and shared out of context to promote false information.

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Claim:

The viral video shows people hurling stones at army or police vehicles and is claimed to be from Jammu and Kashmir, implying ongoing unrest and anti-government sentiment in the region.

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Fact Check:

To verify the validity of the viral statement, we did a reverse image search by taking key frames from the video. The results clearly demonstrated that the video was not sourced from Jammu and Kashmir as claimed, but rather it was consistent with footage from Nairobi, Kenya, where a significant protest took place on 25 June 2025. Protesters in Kenya had congregated to express their outrage against police brutality and government action, which ultimately led to violent clashes with police.

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We also came across a YouTube video with similar news and frames. The protests were part of a broader anti-government movement to mark its one-year time period. 

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To support the context, we did a keyword search of any mob violence or recent unrest in J&K on a reputable Indian news source, But our search did not turn up any mention of protests or similar events in J&K around the relevant time. Based on this evidence, it is clear that the video has been intentionally misrepresented and is being circulated with false context to mislead viewers.

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Conclusion:

The assertion that the viral video shows a protest in Jammu and Kashmir is incorrect. The video appears to be taken from a protest in Nairobi, Kenya, in June 2025. Labeling the video incorrectly only serves to spread misinformation and stir up uncalled for political emotions. Always be sure to verify where content is sourced from before you believe it or share it.

• Claim: Army faces heavy resistance from Kashmiri youth — the valley is in chaos.
• Claimed On: Social Media
• Fact Check: False and Misleading

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Introduction

A Reuters investigation has uncovered an elephant in the room regarding Meta Platforms' internal measures to address online fraud and illicit advertising. The confidential documents that Reuters reviewed disclosed that Meta was planning to generate approximately 10% of its 2024 revenue, i.e., USD 16 billion, from ads related to scams and prohibited goods. The findings point out a disturbing paradox: on the one hand, Meta is a vocal advocate for digital safety and platform integrity, while on the other hand, the internal logs of the company indicate the existence of a very large area allowing the shunning of fraudulent advertisement activities that exploit users throughout the world. 

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The Scale of the Problem

Internal Meta projections show that its platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are displaying a staggering 15 billion scam ads per day combined. The advertisements include deceitful e-commerce promotions, fake investment schemes, counterfeit medical products, and unlicensed gambling platforms.

Meta has developed sophisticated detection tools, but even then, the system does not catch the advertisers until they are 95% certain to be fraudsters. By having at least that threshold for removing an ad, the company is unlikely to lose much money. As a result, instead of turning the fraud adjacent advertisers down, it charges them higher ad rates, which is the strategy they call “penalty bids” internally. 

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Internal Acknowledgements & Business Dependence

Internal documents that date between 2021 and 2025 reveal that the financial, safety, and lobbying divisions of Meta were cognizant of the enormity of revenues generated from scams. One of the 2025 strategic papers even describes this revenue source as "violating revenue," which implies that it includes ads that are against Meta's policies regarding scams, gambling, sexual services, and misleading healthcare products.

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The company's top executives consider the cost-benefit scenario of stricter enforcement. According to a 2024 internal projection, Meta's half-yearly earnings from high-risk scam ads were estimated at USD 3.5 billion, whereas regulatory fines for such violations would not exceed USD 1 billion, thus making it a tolerable trade-off from a commercial viewpoint. At the same time, the company intends to scale down scam ad revenue gradually, thus from 10.1% in 2024 to 7.3% by 2025, and 6% by 2026; however, the documents also reveal a planned slowdown in enforcement to avoid "abrupt reductions" that could affect business forecasts.

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Algorithmic Amplification of Scams

One of the most alarming situations is the fact that Meta's own advertising algorithms amplify scam content. It has been reported that users who click on fraudulent ads are more likely to see other similar ads, as the platform's personalisation engine assumes user "interest."

This scenario creates a self-reinforcing feedback loop where the user engagement with scam content dictates the amount of such content being displayed. Thus, a digital environment is created which encourages deceptive engagement and consequently, user trust is eroded and systemic risk is amplified.

An internal presentation in May 2025 was said to put a number on how deeply the platform's ad ecosystem was intertwined with the global fraud economy, estimating that one-third of the scams that succeeded in the U.S. were due to advertising on Meta's platforms.

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Regulatory & Legal Implications

The disclosures arrived at the same time as the US and UK governments started to closely check the company's activities more than ever before.

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is said to be looking into whether Meta has had any part in the promotion of fraudulent financial ads.
• The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that Meta’s platforms were the main sources of scams related to online payments and claimed that the amount of money lost was more than all the other social platforms combined in 2023.

Meta’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, at first denied the accusations, stating that the figures mentioned in the leak were “rough and overly-inclusive”; nevertheless, he conceded that the company’s consistent efforts toward enforcement had negatively impacted revenue and would continue to do so.

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Operational Challenges & Policy Gaps

The internal documents also reveal the weaknesses in Meta's day-to-day operations when it comes to the implementation of its own policies.

• Because of the large number of employees laid off in 2023, the whole department that dealt with advertiser-brand impersonation was said to have been dissolved.
• Scam ads were categorised as a "low severity" issue, which was more of a "bad user experience" than a critical security risk.
• At the end of 2023, users were submitting around 100,000 legitimate scam reports per week, of which Meta dismissed or rejected 96%.

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Human Impact: When Fraud Becomes Personal

The financial and ethical issues have tangible human consequences. The Reuters investigation documented multiple cases of individuals defrauded through hijacked Meta accounts.

One striking example involves a Canadian Air Force recruiter, whose hacked Facebook account was used to promote fake cryptocurrency schemes. Despite over a hundred user reports, Meta failed to act for weeks, during which several victims, including military colleagues, lost tens of thousands of dollars.

The case underscores not just platform negligence, but also the difficulty of law enforcement collaboration. Canadian authorities confirmed that funds traced to Nigerian accounts could not be recovered due to jurisdictional barriers, a recurring issue in transnational cyber fraud.

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Ethical and Cybersecurity Implications

The research has questioned extremely important things at least from the perspective of cyber policy:

1. Platform Accountability: Meta, by its practice, is giving more importance to the monetary aspect rather than the truth, and in this way, it is going against the principles of responsible digital governance.
2. Transparency in Ad Ecosystems: The lack of transparency in digital advertising systems makes it very easy for dishonest actors to use automated processes with very little supervision.
3. Algorithmic Responsibility: The use of algorithms that impact the visibility of misleading content and targeting can be considered the direct involvement of the algorithms in the fraud.
4. Regulatory Harmonisation: The presence of different and disconnected enforcement frameworks across jurisdictions is a drawback to the efforts in dealing with cross-border cybercrime.
5. Public Trust: Users’ trust in the digital world is mainly dependent on the safety level they see and the accountability of the companies.

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Conclusion

Meta’s records show a very unpleasant mix of profit, laxity, and failure in the policy area concerning scam-related ads. The platform’s readiness to accept and even profit from fraudulent players, though admitting the damage they cause, calls for an immediate global rethinking of advertising ethics, regulatory enforcement, and algorithmic transparency.

With the expansion of its AI-driven operations and advertising networks, protecting the users of Meta must evolve from being just a public relations goal to being a core business necessity, thus requiring verifiable accountability measures, independent audits, and regulatory oversight. It is an undeniable fact that there are billions of users who count on Meta’s platforms for their right to digital safety, which is why this right must be respected and enforced rather than becoming optional.

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References

• https://www.reuters.com/investigations/meta-is-earning-fortune-deluge-fraudulent-ads-documents-show-2025-11-06/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
• https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/leaked-docs-claim-meta-made-16-billion-from-scam-ads-even-after-deleting-134-million-of-them-2815183-2025-11-07

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Over The Top (OTT)

OTT messaging platforms have taken the world by storm; everyone across the globe is working on OTT platforms, and they have changed the dynamics of accessibility and information speed forever. Whatsapp is one of the leading OTT messaging platforms under the tech giant Meta as of 2013. All tasks, whether personal or professional, can be performed over Whatsapp, and as of today, Whatsapp has 2.44 billion users worldwide, with 487.5 Million users in India alone^[1]. With such a vast user base, it is pertinent to have proper safety and security measures and mechanisms on these platforms and active reporting options for the users. The growth of OTT platforms has been exponential in the previous decade. As internet penetration increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, the following factors contributed towards the growth of OTT platforms –

• Urbanisation and Westernisation
• Access to Digital Services
• Media Democratization
• Convenience
• Increased Internet Penetration

These factors have been influential in providing exceptional content and services to the  consumers, and extensive internet connectivity has allowed people from the remotest part of the country to use OTT messaging platforms. But it is pertinent to maintain user safety and security by the platforms and abide by the policies and regulations to maintain accountability and transparency.

New Safety Features

Keeping in mind the safety requirements and threats coming with emerging technologies, Whatsapp has been crucial in taking out new technology and policy-based security measures. A number of new security features have been added to WhatsApp to make it more difficult to take control of other people’s accounts. The app’s privacy and security-focused features go beyond its assertion that online chats and discussions should be as private and secure as in-person interactions. Numerous technological advancements pertaining to that goal have focussed on message security, such as adding end-to-end encryption to conversations. The new features allegedly increase user security on the app.

WhatsApp announced that three new security features are now available to all users on Android and iOS devices. The new security features are called Account Protect, Device Verification, and Automatic Security Codes

• For instance, a new programme named “Account Protect” will start when users migrate an account from an old device to a new one. If users receive an unexpected alert, it may be a sign that someone is trying to access their account without their knowledge. Users may see an alert on their previous handset asking them to confirm that they are truly transitioning away from it.
• To make sure that users cannot install malware to access other people’s messages, another function called “Device Verification” operates in the background. Without the user’s knowledge, this feature authenticates devices in the background. In particular, WhatsApp claims it is concerned about unlicensed WhatsApp applications that contain spyware made explicitly for this use. Users do not need to take any action due to the company’s new checks that help authenticate user accounts to prevent this.
• The final feature is dubbed “automatic security codes,” It builds on an already-existing service that lets users verify that they are speaking with the person they believe they are. This is still done manually, but by default, an automated version will be carried out with the addition of a tool to determine whether the connection is secure.

While users can now view the code by visiting a user’s profile, the social media platform will start to develop a concept called “Key Transparency” to make it easier for its users to verify the validity of the code. Update to the most recent build if you use WhatsApp on Android because these features have already been released. If you use iOS, the security features have not yet been released, although an update is anticipated soon.

Conclusion

Digital safety is a crucial matter for netizens across the world; platforms like Whatsapp, which enjoy a massive user base, should lead the way in terms of OTT platforms’ cyber security by inculcating the use of emerging technologies, user reporting, and transparency in the principles and also encourage other platforms to replicate their security mechanisms to keep bad actors at bay. Account Protect, Device Verification, and Automatic Security Codes will go a long way in protecting the user’s interests while simultaneously maintaining convenience, thus showing us that the future with such platforms is bright and secure.

^[1] https://verloop.io/blog/whatsapp-statistics-2023/#:~:text=1.,over%202.44%20billion%20users%20worldwide.