A fresh investigation by the tech policy non-profit What to Fix and the Bosnian fact-checking organisation Raskrinkavanje has uncovered a persistent loophole in Meta's enforcement: Facebook pages repeatedly flagged for spreading disinformation continue to generate revenue on the platform, sometimes even after suspension.
The study examined over 290 Facebook pages in Bosnia that had been flagged more than ten times by one of Meta's fact-checking partners for distributing fabricated content. Of these, 51 pages had a documented history of being enrolled in at least one of Meta's monetisation programmes, according to Raskrinkavanje's analysis.
Monetisation channels and Meta's response
Before 2024, when Meta consolidated its various money streams into a single invite-only programme, one in three of these flagged accounts managed to register for more than one monetisation channel. Even after the merger, nine accounts received invitations from Meta to join the new programme, which pays creators based on content performance.
“Our findings raise important questions about Meta’s ability to fulfill its commitment to demonetise repeat disinformation offenders,” the study concluded. The report notes that while Meta's policy explicitly bars content labelled as “fake” by third-party fact-checkers from monetisation, the company does not specify the thresholds it uses to apply repeat restrictions.
Meta defines “fake” content as anything without basis in fact, including fake quotes, impossible claims, conspiracy theories, fabricated material, or real media used as “proof of an unrelated event.” Yet the study found that 84% of the restricted accounts were able to regain access to monetisation after being demonetised or suspended. Over half were back online within a month, and some suspensions lasted as little as two days.
“This suggests that Meta may have allowed restricted actors to continue to monetise content on Facebook despite having accurately identified them as having violated its monetisation policies on a repeated basis,” the report stated.
Euronews Next reached out to Meta for comment but did not receive an immediate reply. The company has long faced criticism in both the United States and Europe for its struggle to curb disinformation. After the 2016 US election, Meta began collaborating with third-party fact-checkers, but it started rolling back those capabilities in some regions last year, replacing them with Community Notes—a system where users can add context to potentially misleading posts.
The study's authors acknowledge limitations: Meta does not maintain public records of account monetisation, forcing researchers to rely on an ongoing database of disclosures and an internal archive of fact-checks. It is also possible that Meta worked with other fact-checkers to remove additional accounts in other markets, which the study's narrow scope could not capture.
This investigation adds to growing concerns about the effectiveness of self-regulation by tech giants. For European readers, the findings are particularly relevant given the EU's Digital Services Act, which imposes stricter obligations on platforms to tackle illegal content and systemic risks. The persistence of monetised disinformation on Facebook underscores the challenges regulators face in holding platforms accountable.
In related news, an uncensored AI chatbot has been spreading disinformation across Europe, fact-checkers warn, highlighting the broader landscape of digital misinformation. Meanwhile, a separate study on poverty's impact on children's brain development shows how systemic issues can have far-reaching consequences, much like the unchecked spread of false information online.
