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Meta Sues Brazil, China Advertisers Over Celebrity Deepfake Scam Ads

Meta Platforms has launched legal action against multiple advertisers in Brazil and China accused of using AI‑generated celebrity deepfakes and manipulated images to run fraudulent ad campaigns on its social media services, including Facebook and Instagram.

The lawsuits, filed on Feb. 26, 2026, target four scam operations that allegedly impersonated well‑known personalities and brands to deceive users into buying bogus products or joining fake investment groups. In Brazil, defendants such as Vitor Lourenço de Souza, Milena Luciani Sanchez, and companies including B&B Suplementos e Cosméticos Ltda. and Brites Academia de Treinamento Ltda. are accused of using deepfakes of celebrities and a respected physician to promote unapproved health products and even sell courses teaching deceptive tactics.

In China, Shenzhen Yunzheng Technology Co., Ltd. is sued for deploying “celeb‑bait” ads that allegedly redirected users into fraudulent investment schemes, targeting audiences in the US, Japan and other countries. Meta’s actions form part of a broader push to curb “celeb bait” scams — misleading advertisements that exploit AI‑generated likenesses of public figures to increase credibility and lure victims to scam sites.

Beyond litigation, Meta says it has suspended the scammers’ payment methods, disabled related accounts, blocked their domains and shared fraud data with industry partners to prevent further misuse of its ad platforms.