Meta has run hundreds of ads for cocaine, opioids and other drugs

User experiences with Meta drug and scam ads

• Many report frequent Instagram/Facebook ads blatantly offering MDMA, mushrooms, other drugs, counterfeit plates, deepfake “giveaway” scams, and shady “AI nude” apps.
• Users say drug and scam ads are often approved, while legitimate or borderline products (e.g., CBD, grow equipment) have been blocked or accounts banned.
• Reporting clearly fraudulent or illegal ads frequently returns “does not violate our guidelines,” reinforcing a sense that Meta prioritizes ad revenue.

Ambiguous legality and “alternatives”

• Some ads promote “mushroom gummies” that may be muscimol (legal) but have been found to contain 4-ACO-DMT; posters debate its legal status under the Federal Analogue Act and sham “not for human consumption” labels.
• Discussion of ketamine “therapy” ads and other loophole-based marketing.
• Debate on DMT and psychedelics: some argue they’re less harmful than alcohol and used therapeutically; others note legality is separate from relative harm.

Moderation, responsibility, and Section 230

• Strong disagreement on who should police this:
  • One side: Meta is effectively aiding drug trafficking, should face large fines, consent decrees, even temporary ad bans and executive liability.
  • Other side: Platforms aren’t police; law enforcement should subpoena and arrest advertisers, not expect Meta to solve crime.
• Section 230 is debated:
  • Some argue it shields platforms even for ads.
  • Others propose narrowing 230 for paid, algorithmically pushed content, treating it as editorial/publishing.
  • Suggestions include requiring human sign-off on ads with personal liability, or making platforms common carriers.

AI, scale, and feasibility

• Some say Meta could easily use embeddings/LLMs and vision models to flag drug ads at scale; others argue generative LLMs aren’t designed for robust classification.
• Counterpoint: embeddings are already widely and effectively used for large-scale filtering; Meta’s failure is framed as unwillingness, not inability.
• A few note that “hundreds” of bad ads may be a tiny fraction at Facebook scale, while others counter that even rare illegal ads (like promoting genocide or hard drugs) are unacceptable.

Wider pattern and alternatives

• Users see similar scams on YouTube, Google Ads, and news sites, suggesting a systemic ad-network problem and moral hazard for large firms.
• Proposed remedies include stronger regulation, asset forfeiture skepticism, heavy financial penalties, and moves toward self-hosted or federated social platforms to escape ad-driven models.