Deepfake investment-scam ads impersonating Nigerian public figures on Facebook
Severity moderate: Deepfake videos impersonating named Nigerian public figures were promoted in paid Facebook ads for fraudulent investment schemes.
Earliest source we hold 2026-10-08
Deepfake videos impersonating Nigerian public figures, including Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Peter Obi and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, were used in paid Facebook ads promoting fraudulent investment schemes.
Risk grouping: AI used to exploit
| Who caused it | A person or organisation “The creators used deepfake technology to create a physical persona of the senator, then uploaded it.” source |
|---|---|
| Intended or not | Intended “But these sparsely regulated advertisements have also served as a launchpad for fraudsters farming for new, unsuspecting victims.” source |
| Before or after release | After release “Deepfake videos of influential Nigerians have flooded Facebook, often used to promote fraudulent investment scams, and in some cases to drive traffic to gambling websites.” source |
| The AI's part | Used as a tool “The creators used deepfake technology to create a physical persona of the senator, then uploaded it. The creators also promoted the video to reach more Facebook users.” source |
The story
1 · What it was doingMeta's Facebook advertising platform let anyone pay to promote posts to targeted audiences; scammers used it to run paid ads carrying deepfake videos of Nigerian public figures promoting fake investment schemes.
2 · What went wrongThe ads violated Meta's policy against deceptive use of public figures to scam people, yet the deepfake videos stayed up for months and were only removed after PREMIUM TIMES asked Meta about them.
3 · What it reached or didThe deepfake ads reached over a thousand Facebook users on one video and pointed to phishing websites cloning Channels Television and collecting names, emails and phone numbers; many Nigerian public figures were impersonated.
4 · How it was caughtPREMIUM TIMES, a news outlet, found the ads and deepfake videos and contacted Meta asking whether they violated its policies; the posts were removed in July after that contact.
5 · What was doneMeta removed the posts in July after PREMIUM TIMES contacted it and said it was taking action on violating content; Meta said it invests in trained review teams and AI systems to detect celebrity bait and scam ads.
Show every field, with its source and grade
The AI system
Software around the model
Meta advertising platform (Facebook ads)
C one secondary source states it
What it was allowed to do
Advertisers could pay Facebook to promote posts to targeted audiences
C one secondary source states it
Stage of use
in live use
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
How it was connected
embedded
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
What it was for
Advertising platform for promoting posts to targeted audiences
C one secondary source states it
What happened
Earliest source we hold
2026-10-08
A the date the source itself carries
Who caught it
an independent researcher or journalist
C one secondary source states it
Themes
deepfake, scam ads, impersonation, Facebook, investment fraud
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Who caused it
an outside attacker
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
What went wrong
other
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
AI agent
no AI agent acted
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
What it did
Scammers used deepfake technology to impersonate Nigerian public figures and paid Meta to promote the videos as ads, which the platform ran despite policies against deceptive ads.
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Impact
Severity
moderate
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Who was affected
Nigerian public figures including Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Peter Obi, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Tony Elumelu, Jim Ovia, Aliko Dangote, Seun Okinbaloye and Kadaria Ahmed, and Facebook users targeted by the scam ads
C one secondary source states it
Why this severity
Deepfake videos impersonating named Nigerian public figures were promoted in paid Facebook ads for fraudulent investment schemes.
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Context
Industry
Information
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Country
Nigeria
D inferred by us from the described behaviour, reason shown
Against the provider's safety policy
sparsely regulated advertisements
C one secondary source states it
LR-2026-0139 · version 5 · published 2026-10-25 after automatic checks; not yet checked field by field by a person · changes to this case · JSON