Guests: Toronto Star journalists Ben Mussett and Omar Mosleh
A Toronto Star investigation uncovered a troubling loophole inside Meta's advertising system. Reporters Ben Mussett and Omar Mosleh found illegal drugs being advertised and sold to Canadians through paid Meta ads on Facebook and Instagram. With one click, the Star was linked to online shops offering cocaine, Oxycodone, MDMA, Xanax, ketamine and more, and discovered how easily these drugs could be ordered and shipped.
The investigation raises urgent questions about Meta's ad moderation, platform safety and how drug traffickers are exploiting automated tools to reach users.
Meta, the tech giant that owns Facebook and Instagram, says it has "zero tolerance" for the ads and works to find and remove the illegal drug posts.
In this episode, we unpack what happened when Star journalists tested the system themselves, why Meta's detection tools aren't stopping illicit drug ads, and who these ads are targeting the most.
This episode is produced by Sean Pattendon