FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM RAN ADS FUNDING ISRAELI MILITARY STRIKES IN GAZA, WATCHDOG FINDS

Fri 25 July 2025:

Facebook parent company Meta is hosting ads on its platforms, including Instagram and Threads, to fund Israeli military gear, which in many cases, was responsible for the killings of unarmed civilians in Gaza, according to new research. The ads, critics say, also seem to directly violate the platform’s own rules on political and weapons-related content. These paid ads, first flagged to Meta by global consumer watchdog Ekō, have reportedly raised millions of dollars to arm the Israeli military.

What do the ads say?

One such ad, which as per The Guardian, remained live as of July 17, read: “We are the sniper team of Unit Shaked, stationed in Gaza, and we urgently need shooting tripods to complete our mission in Jabalia”. It was first posted on June 11.

Ekō has identified at least 117 such ads since March of this year, all seeking donations for gear for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF itself is not running these campaigns, but according to Ekō, the military has received equipment through donations raised online. What’s more, this isn’t the first time the group flagged these campaigns. In December 2024, Ekō alerted Meta to 98 similar ads—prompting the tech giant to remove many. But the same publishers, it says, returned soon after with nearly identical fundraising appeals.

“This shows that Meta will literally take money from anybody,” said Maen Hammad, a campaigner with Ekō. “So little of the checks and balances the platform ought to be doing actually takes place and if it does, they’ll do it after the fact”.

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Ads removed, but for the wrong reasons

Meta confirmed that it had removed the ads for violating its policies—but only after Ekō and The Guardian reached out for comment, and that too not for raising money for weapons but something else. A Meta spokesperson said all political or social issue-based ads must include disclaimers that identify who paid for them. None of these ads did.

Ekō estimates that the ads, most of which were shown in the UK and EU, racked up at least 76,000 impressions. It was unable to determine the reach of the ads in the United States.

What was the raised money used for?

A deeper investigation by Israeli publication +972 Magazine revealed that many of the drones being crowdfunded—commercial quadcopters sold on Amazon—are being retrofitted by Israeli soldiers to drop grenades in combat. Several soldiers told the outlet that such drones were delivered via online donation drives and private Facebook groups.

“Most of our drones are broken and falling apart—and we don’t have any replacements,” read one ad. “Donate now — every second counts, every drone saves lives.”

One publisher flagged by Ekō, Vaad Hatzedaka, a non profit, has even linked its ads to a donation page listing the exact models of drones and tactical gear it was fundraising for, including two drones made by Chinese firm Autel. According to the group’s donation tracker, it has raised over $250,000 of its $300,000 goal.

Another campaigner, Israeli musician Mayer Malik, has used Meta ads to promote a donation page that offers sponsorships for tactical items like thermal drones. He has reportedly raised over $2.2 million for Israeli units through these efforts.

Are such ads allowed? What do Meta rules say?

Meta’s policies broadly prohibit the buying, selling, gifting, or fundraising for “firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, or lethal enhancements,” though they allow some exceptions. But the company said the recent ads were removed primarily for lacking political disclaimers—not for fundraising for military gear.

According to Ekō, these campaigns may also violate the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which obligates platforms to remove any content that violates national or EU law. In both France and the UK, strict regulations limit how charities can fundraise for foreign militaries. In January 2025, the UK’s Charity Commission issued a formal warning to a London-based charity after it raised funds for an Israeli soldier, saying the effort was “not lawful or acceptable.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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