The publishers – including SVT, SR, UR, TV4, Sveriges Tidskrifter and Tidningsutgivarna – believe that scam ads on Facebook “exploit media houses and journalists” and “cause both financial and psychological suffering among innocent people,” the organization writes in a debate article in Svenska Dagbladet .
Recently, the news agency Reuters reported that ten percent of the American Meta's revenue in 2024 came from scam ads. According to Reuters, the platform earned around 152 billion Swedish kronor from the dubious ads last year.
Half a billion
According to the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, over 5,000 Swedes lost a total of half a billion kronor to fraud via scam ads during the summer of 2025. The publishers also mention that SVT's "Uppdrag granskning" reported that the scam ads are controlled by international criminal organizations.
The publishers are therefore reporting Zuckerberg for fraud, aiding and abetting fraud and preparation for fraud. The organization is also reporting violations of the Name and Image in Advertising Act, as well as the use of well-known media profiles in fraudulent advertisements without their consent. In addition, repeated trademark infringement is being reported for using media logos without permission.
Meta responds
SVT has been in contact with Meta, who responded that fraudsters are constantly developing new tactics to avoid getting caught, and that the platform is constantly working on developing methods to stop fraud.
"It is against our policy to impersonate companies and public figures, and we will remove these accounts when we become aware of them," Meta writes in an email to SVT.
