● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 negative
Meta Pays Controversial Creators, Including White Nationalist and Anti-Vaxxer, for Content
Key points
- Meta pays controversial creators via content monetization programs.
- Recipients include a white nationalist and an anti-vaxxer.
- Content produced by these creators may violate Facebook's policies.
- Meta stated it has clear policies but does not "police offensiveness."
Meta's Monetization of Controversial Content
An ABC NEWS Verify investigation revealed that Meta, Facebook's parent company, is directly compensating several controversial content creators. These creators include individuals with ties to white nationalism and neo-Nazism, as well as those known for promoting anti-vaccine misinformation. The payments are made through Meta's content monetization programs.
Violations of Platform Policies
The content produced by some of these paid creators appears to be in direct violation of Facebook's own policies regarding content monetization. For example, Hugo Lennon, a far-right agitator, has been receiving revenue since September 2025 and has posted videos referencing white supremacist concepts. The Noticer, a far-right news website, has also been monetizing content since November 2025, despite its X account being suspended for violating hateful profile policies.
Specific Examples of Paid Creators
Hugo Lennon, who has been photographed with known neo-Nazis, received payments after shouting racist abuse at the Indian prime minister. Monica Smit, founder of the anti-vaccine group Reignite Democracy Australia, joined the program in September 2025 and promotes vaccine misinformation and unproven health products. A page for the anti-immigration group "March for Australia," also with neo-Nazi ties, registered for the program in December 2025.
Meta's Response
Meta declined to comment directly on the specific pages identified in the investigation. The company stated it has "clear policies in place which anyone using our monetisation tools must comply with" and that "it is not Meta's role to police offensiveness." This response indicates a stance that differentiates between policy violations and content deemed offensive.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
An ABC NEWS Verify investigation found that Meta is directly paying several controversial content creators, including a white nationalist with neo-Nazi links and a prominent anti-vaxxer, through its content monetization programs. This practice appears to violate Facebook's own content monetization policies, raising questions about content moderation and platform responsibility.