All posts tagged: ads

Taylor Swift Wants to Trademark Her Likeness. These TikTok Deepfake Ads Show Why

Taylor Swift Wants to Trademark Her Likeness. These TikTok Deepfake Ads Show Why

Published by skeptic

Last week, Taylor Swift filed a trio of trademark applications to protect her image and voice. One is meant to cover a well-known photograph of the pop singer holding a pink guitar during a concert on her record-breaking Eras tour, while the two sound trademarks are for simple identifying phrases: “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor.” The move comes as AI deepfakes continue to proliferate across social media. Any individual stands to have their likeness exploited in the creation of nonconsensual AI-generated material; earlier this month, an Ohio man was the first person convicted under a new federal law criminalizing “intimate” visual deceptions of this sort. Celebrities, meanwhile, find themselves at risk of both explicit deepfakes and false endorsements. A new report from the AI detection company Copyleaks shows that Swift and other stars have recently had their likenesses used in scammy advertisements. Researchers identified a cluster of sponsored videos on TikTok that appeared to show Swift, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, and others promoting “potentially fraudulent or malicious services,” with the clips making use …

Meta accused of profiting from scam ads in class-action lawsuit

Meta accused of profiting from scam ads in class-action lawsuit

Published by skeptic

This week, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C. against Meta, alleging that the company deceived Facebook users about scam advertisements and profited from it. Tycko and Zavareei LLP and Tech Justice Law filed the complaint on April 21 under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act on behalf of the Consumer Federation of America and Washington, D.C. Facebook users. The complaint states that while Meta publicly claims to fight scams, internal documents (published by Reuters in Dec. 2025) show it’s making billions off of them. SEE ALSO: Fake AI-generated shops, ads flourish on Facebook The documents show that in 2024, Meta projected that around 10 percent of its revenue — around $16 billion — would come from advertising scam and banned products. Users are apparently exposed to 15 billion “high-risk” scam ads each day, per the documents. Meta apparently charged these high-risk advertisers more while rejecting 96 percent of valid user fraud reports. Mashable Light Speed “Meta has, as a matter of company policy, deliberately profited from rampant, inexcusable harm to users on its …

Ads Are Coming to Apple Maps This Summer: Here’s What to Expect

Ads Are Coming to Apple Maps This Summer: Here’s What to Expect

Published by skeptic

Apple is planning to start showing ads in the Apple Maps app this summer, and signs of ads have already shown up in the iOS 26.5 beta as Apple prepares to roll them out. Where Ads Show Up Ads will be displayed in the ‌Apple Maps‌ search interface. Depending on the search, relevant ads will be shown first in search results. Apple is also implementing a new Suggested Places feature in Maps that will show recommendations based on what’s trending nearby and the user’s recent searches. Suggested Places The Maps app is getting a Suggested Places feature that recommends locations to visit based on trending places that are around you and your recent Maps searches. Ads will be shown in Suggested Places. No Opt-Out Similar to ads in the App Store, there will be no option to turn off ads in ‌Apple Maps‌. Ads will be displayed for all users in the U.S. and Canada. Countries Ads will be shown in ‌Apple Maps‌ in the United States and Canada first, and could expand to other …

Meta Is Sued Over Scam Ads on Facebook and Instagram

Meta Is Sued Over Scam Ads on Facebook and Instagram

Published by skeptic

On Tuesday, the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging that the way the social networking giant handles scammers on its platforms violates Washington, DC’s consumer protection laws. While many online scams involve direct outreach to victims by scammers (who are often themselves human trafficking victims trapped in scam compounds), CFA’s lawsuit focuses on fraudulent advertising that CFA alleges Meta profited from and allowed to “proliferate on its platforms,” despite publicly promising that it takes cracking down on fraud and scams seriously. In its complaint, CFA points to ads found in Meta’s ads library that CFA claims are types of well-known scams, including several that appear to target people by their birth year and tout $1,400 checks, as well as others that advertise free government iPhones. Speaking with WIRED, Ben Winters, CFA’s director of AI and data privacy, says others can find more dubious ads just by searching Meta’s ad library using key words like “free phone” and “stimulus check.” WIRED’s quick perusal of the ads library on Monday shows more …

Gambling ads face scrutiny as Google blocks 270 million promotions in 2025

Gambling ads face scrutiny as Google blocks 270 million promotions in 2025

Published by skeptic

Online gambling ads faced a tougher year in 2025 as Google stepped up enforcement across its network. The company says it blocked or removed 270.7 million gambling and gaming ads for breaking policy rules, putting the sector among the most heavily penalized categories in its latest Ads Safety Report. That total trailed areas such as financial services and sexual content, but it was higher than enforcement tied to alcohol and healthcare advertising. The numbers appear to show how hard it has become for platforms and regulators to police a betting market that keeps growing across borders and devices. In 2025, Gemini-powered tools helped us catch over 99% of policy-violating ads before they ever served. Our 2025 Ads Safety Report details how we’re continuing to evolve our defenses to stay ahead of even the most advanced schemes. pic.twitter.com/9oqDgbpFFc — News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) April 16, 2026 Google also said it restricted 123.9 million gambling and gaming ads rather than removing them outright. In practice, that can mean an ad was limited by country, age gate rules, …

GLP-1 ads are rampant across the internet. Here’s how to spot fake suppliers

GLP-1 ads are rampant across the internet. Here’s how to spot fake suppliers

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore If you watched the Super Bowl in 2026, you likely saw Serena Williams share her weight loss journey on GLP-1 medications in a commercial. Like millions of others around the country, if you’ve ever considered taking one of these drugs, you probably went online to learn more about where you can get them and how much they cost. Online searches for GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have risen dramatically since 2022. Advertisements like Williams’ Super Bowl commercial both reflect and help drive that growing demand. More and more advertisements for weight loss medications are appearing in people’s daily lives. These ads can be appealing, intrusive, confusing or even misleading, and have sparked widespread concerns about inappropriate use and adverse events. But the high cost of GLP-1 medications, combined with the lack of adequate coverage by insurance plans, has helped fuel …

Apple Maps Ads Move Closer to Launch With iOS 26.5 Beta 2

Apple Maps Ads Move Closer to Launch With iOS 26.5 Beta 2

Published by skeptic

With the second beta of iOS 26.5, Apple is continuing to prepare for ads in the Apple Maps app. There’s a new splash screen in the app that says it will display ads based on approximate location, current search terms, or a view of the map when searching. Ads will also be shown in the “Suggested Places” section that was added in the first beta. Apple says that advertising information is not linked to an Apple Account to preserve user privacy, so ads viewed and interacted with will not be associated with an Apple Account. Data is not collected or stored by Apple and not shared with third parties, according to Apple. Signs of ads in the Maps app were spotted in the first beta, but iOS 26.5 testers could start seeing ads with the second beta. It’s not yet clear if Apple has just implemented the splash screen, or if ads are going to begin showing up in the near future. Apple announced plans to introduce ads for the Maps app back in March, …

Your owned Prime Video movies shouldn’t have ads — here’s how to stop them

Your owned Prime Video movies shouldn’t have ads — here’s how to stop them

Published by skeptic

Streaming services all try and separate themselves from one another. While the content is the main factor that differentiates them, they all have their own look and features that make them unique. The driving force will always be the content, which is what has made the streaming wars fun to observe over the years. But it has also led to comparisons about how each platform looks. If you’re like me and subscribe to too many of them, you have used them enough to know your way around them. Whether it’s Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Peacock, Prime Video or the hundreds of other options, you likely know how to get the content you’re looking for. That is, unless that content is on a different platform even though you thought it was on the one you are on. A surefire way to know what content is on your platform is by purchasing it. Prime Video is one of the platforms that allows you to do that. Related These 5 Streaming Services Offer the Best Value of All …

OpenAI Says It’s Already Made 0 Million by Stuffing ChatGPT With Ads

OpenAI Says It’s Already Made $100 Million by Stuffing ChatGPT With Ads

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Huzzah! A mass psychosis inducing machine is making money out the wazoo by bombarding users with highly-targeted corporate messages. According to a new Axios scoop, OpenAI has already generated $100 million in annual recurring revenue from stuffing advertisements into ChatGPT in just two months, suggesting that its big bet on leveraging its users’ deeply personal conversations to offer hyper-effective commercials is paying off. OpenAI told investors it expects to rake in $2.5 billion in ad revenue by the end of 2026, and a staggering $53 billion by 2029, per Axios. And by 2030, it predicted that figure will double to $100 billion, surpassing the revenue of giant companies like Tesla and Disney. The projections are based on the assumption that OpenAI reaches 2.75 billion weekly users by 2030, we should note. As of February, that figure stands at 900 million. The AI industry loves to throw around big numbers, so it’s worth taking these projections with a grain …

Australia gambling ads crackdown targets harm but critics say reforms fall short

Australia gambling ads crackdown targets harm but critics say reforms fall short

Published by skeptic

Australia is moving to tighten its grip on gambling ads, but the plan is already dividing opinion. The Albanese government is presenting the changes as “strong action” to curb harm, while critics argue the policy has been watered down and delayed to the point where its impact may be limited. Set to take effect on January 1, 2027, the reforms aim to cut back the sheer volume of betting promotions across television, radio, online platforms and live sport. They also bring in new rules targeting illegal operators and evolving betting products that have slipped through older regulatory frameworks. Our government is cutting gambling ads on television, radio, online and on the field. https://t.co/IvnsWojjud #auspol pic.twitter.com/59VptjmqXI — Andrew Leigh (@ALeighMP) April 2, 2026 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was “taking decisive action to tackle the community and public health concerns associated with gambling,” adding that the intent was to ensure “Australian children don’t see betting ads everywhere they look” while still allowing adults to gamble legally. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the changes are …