Experts believe the operation is based in China and relies on a drop shipping scheme. “It could just be a re-distributor selling controversial products,” said Zach Edwards, senior threat researcher at cybersecurity company Silent Push, which specializes in the online data ecosystem. controversial or illegal”.
Typically, Edwards explains, dropshippers wait for customers to place orders, then buy the item from inexpensive online retailers, repackage it, and ship it to the customer. Edwards said that the network operator has the ability to create hundreds of websites, apply moderate ratings to products and enhance Facebook pages to promote their items. “Even if some websites or ads are discovered and taken down, others continue to run,” Edwards said. “It's a spray and pray approach.”
The meta explicitly prohibits ads promoting weapons, silencers, and related modifications. According to Meta, ads are reviewed by an automated system with assistance from moderators. However, enforcement was inconsistent: While at least 74 ad campaigns in our analysis were removed for violating the platform's terms, the remainder appeared to have run successfully.
After WIRED contacted Meta, the company said it had removed the ad and related ad accounts. However, a quick search in Meta's Ad Library revealed that almost identical ads had been published.
“Bad actors continually evolve their tactics to avoid enforcement, which is why we continue to invest in tools,” Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts wrote in a statement. and technology to help identify and remove prohibited content.”
Roberts said that many of the ads flagged by WIRED had little to no engagement, suggesting that few people ever saw the content. However, at least two ads reviewed by WIRED had thousands of comments, including accusations that it was an ATF honeypot, complaints from buyers claiming the product never arrived, and even Testimonials from others claim that this item works as advertised. WIRED reached out to several commenters who said they had purchased the product but received no response.
The ads have also attracted the attention of U.S. Department of Defense officials. An internal presentation to Pentagon employees, viewed by WIRED, claimed that targeted ads about fuel filters were served to US military personnel on government computers at the Pentagon. The presentation, which a source said was delivered to senior generals, including the US Army's chief information officer, issued warnings about how social media algorithms are being used. used to target military personnel.
Meta's ad library offers limited transparency, making it unclear exactly how to target these ads. Researchers suggest that Meta's powerful advertising tools, which allow advertisers to find appropriate audiences using granular targeting options, can be exploited to reach these gun enthusiast or military person. While Roberts confirmed that Meta did not detect any indication that these ads were targeting the military, WIRED found that advertisers could easily target the users listed Their job title is “US Army” or “military” on their resumes—an audience that Meta estimates includes up to 46,134 people.
Meta's platform has long struggled to prevent the sale of guns and related products. Tech Transparency Project October 2024 Joint Report discovered that more than 230 ads for rifles and ghost guns had been running on Facebook and Instagram for nearly three months. Many of these ads direct buyers to third-party platforms like Telegram to complete the transaction. In 2024, two men in Los Angeles County was charged with operating an “unlicensed gun business” that used an Instagram account to advertise and market the sale of more than 60 firearms, including several untraceable ghost guns and The weapon has a scratched serial number. Both individuals pleaded guilty.
Silencers are rarely used in crime, but their use is increasing—almost 5 million registered in the United States, up from 1.3 million in 2017. Last month, 26-year-old software engineer Luigi Mangione allegedly used a 3D printed gun was armed with a silencer to shoot and kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a midtown Manhattan street.