Temu allegedly spent up to $962 million on influencer ads run by fake accounts
Research suggests Temu may have paid nearly $962 million for Meta ads that were promoted through influencer profiles that are likely fictitious.
Online Risk Labs’ research indicates that Temu, the Chinese-owned online marketplace, may have allocated as much as $962 million to Meta-based influencer advertising that relied on accounts likely not tied to real people. Of the hundred creators whose content received the most boost, 73 appear to be fake, including the Instagram profile @findgadgetswithme, which lists 183,000 followers but contains inconsistent location and bio details.
The account was featured in roughly 109,541 Temu ad campaigns, averaging about 225 campaigns per day, and its posts amassed over a billion views across Facebook and Instagram during a 16-month period ending April 2026. ORL estimates this spending accounts for nearly 2 % of Meta’s European quarterly revenue. Only eight of the top influencers were verified, while a sizable share were traced to Russia, China or Iran. Legal commentator Stuart Lester says presenting fabricated accounts as genuine influencers could violate EU rules against misleading commercial practices, and ORL has asked the Digital Services Act regulator to examine the risk.
Why it matters
The story highlights possible large-scale misuse of advertising budgets and raises questions about compliance with EU consumer-protection laws.
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