Steve Stecklow
@stecklow.bsky.social
Global investigative reporter @Reuters. Previously worked at Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer. Fishes with flies.
Pinned
Steve Stecklow
@stecklow.bsky.social
· Nov 28
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show - www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, and it internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day, company documents show.
www.reuters.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show - www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Steve Stecklow
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Instagram’s teen safety features are flawed, researchers say - www.reuters.com/business/ins... by @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social
Instagram’s teen safety features are flawed, researchers say
Numerous safety features that Meta has said it has implemented to protect young users on Instagram over the years do not work well or, in some cases, don't exist, according to a report from child-safety advocacy groups that was corroborated by researchers at Northeastern University.
www.reuters.com
September 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Instagram’s teen safety features are flawed, researchers say - www.reuters.com/business/ins... by @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social
Not my usual investigation… www.reuters.com/lifestyle/fi...
www.reuters.com
September 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Not my usual investigation… www.reuters.com/lifestyle/fi...
Reposted by Steve Stecklow
Some of the world's most powerful AI tools were perfectly willing to help @reuters.com cook up phishing emails to scam the elderly.
Grok, Elon Musk's AI, did it even though reports told it they wanted its help scamming older people.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
Grok, Elon Musk's AI, did it even though reports told it they wanted its help scamming older people.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
September 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Some of the world's most powerful AI tools were perfectly willing to help @reuters.com cook up phishing emails to scam the elderly.
Grok, Elon Musk's AI, did it even though reports told it they wanted its help scamming older people.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
Grok, Elon Musk's AI, did it even though reports told it they wanted its help scamming older people.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
Reposted by Steve Stecklow
We asked major AI chatbots to help craft a phishing scam. They did. From fake charities to urgent pleas, the bots delivered. This investigation shows how generative AI is fueling fraud — and why it’s so hard to stop. Read our findings here: reut.rs/3K400yU
September 15, 2025 at 10:45 AM
We asked major AI chatbots to help craft a phishing scam. They did. From fake charities to urgent pleas, the bots delivered. This investigation shows how generative AI is fueling fraud — and why it’s so hard to stop. Read our findings here: reut.rs/3K400yU
Reposted by Steve Stecklow
One measure of the relative clout Trust and Safety staffers have is that, when you ask a chatbot to help you to commit a crime, sometimes they just say "sure!"
September 15, 2025 at 4:09 PM
One measure of the relative clout Trust and Safety staffers have is that, when you ask a chatbot to help you to commit a crime, sometimes they just say "sure!"
@reuters.com Exclusive: Bill Pulte accused Lisa Cook of fraud. His relatives filed housing claims similar to hers - www.reuters.com/world/us/bil...
Exclusive: Bill Pulte accused Fed Governor Lisa Cook of fraud. His relatives filed housing claims similar to hers
Close relatives of the federal official who has accused a Federal Reserve governor of improperly claiming primary residence on two properties have declared the same status on two homes in two different states, public records show.
www.reuters.com
September 8, 2025 at 12:40 AM
@reuters.com Exclusive: Bill Pulte accused Lisa Cook of fraud. His relatives filed housing claims similar to hers - www.reuters.com/world/us/bil...
Another @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social Exclusive: Meta created flirty chatbots of Taylor Swift, other celebrities without permission - www.reuters.com/business/met...
Exclusive: Meta created flirty chatbots of Taylor Swift, other celebrities without permission
Meta has appropriated the names and likenesses of celebrities – including Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez – to create dozens of flirty social-media chatbots without their permission, Reuters has found.
www.reuters.com
August 29, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Another @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social Exclusive: Meta created flirty chatbots of Taylor Swift, other celebrities without permission - www.reuters.com/business/met...
Thanks WSJ (and the White House) for promoting my story:
April 30, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Thanks WSJ (and the White House) for promoting my story:
As Tesla tanks, Musk’s hand-picked board chair is doing just fine - www.reuters.com/investigatio...
As Tesla tanks, Musk’s hand-picked board chair is doing just fine
Elon Musk’s EV company is struggling as he plunges into politics. Robyn Denholm, the Australian chair of Tesla, is thriving after cashing in half a billion dollars of the stock. Investors are clamoring for her to rein in the world’s richest man – but some question whether she has the independence to do so.
www.reuters.com
March 17, 2025 at 11:51 AM
As Tesla tanks, Musk’s hand-picked board chair is doing just fine - www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Continuing fallout from our 2021 @Reuters.com probe of Amazon in India: India court orders Amazon to pay $39 million in damages in Beverly Hills Polo Club case - www.reuters.com/business/ret...
India court orders Amazon to pay $39 million in damages in Beverly Hills Polo Club case
An Indian court has ordered an Amazon unit to pay $39 million in damages for infringing the "Beverly Hills Polo Club" trademark after garments with identical branding were sold on Amazon's India website, a court order showed on Wednesday.
www.reuters.com
February 27, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Continuing fallout from our 2021 @Reuters.com probe of Amazon in India: India court orders Amazon to pay $39 million in damages in Beverly Hills Polo Club case - www.reuters.com/business/ret...
Reposted by Steve Stecklow
Along the many aid programs forced to close across the world because of the U.S freeze, according to a new survey: life saving health centres for malnourished children.
Report with @stecklow.bsky.social and Giulia Paravicini.
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Report with @stecklow.bsky.social and Giulia Paravicini.
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
U.S. aid freeze 'decimates' life-saving work globally, survey finds
Aid groups across the world have closed operations, laid off staff and halted life-saving work, including with malnourished children, because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign assistance, according to a survey of 246 humanitarian organisations.
www.reuters.com
February 19, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Along the many aid programs forced to close across the world because of the U.S freeze, according to a new survey: life saving health centres for malnourished children.
Report with @stecklow.bsky.social and Giulia Paravicini.
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Report with @stecklow.bsky.social and Giulia Paravicini.
www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Our latest on the impact of the US foreign-aid freeze: www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
U.S. aid freeze 'decimates' life-saving work globally, survey finds
Aid groups across the world have closed operations, laid off staff and halted life-saving work, including with malnourished children, because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign assistance, according to a survey of 246 humanitarian organisations.
www.reuters.com
February 19, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Our latest on the impact of the US foreign-aid freeze: www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Reuters stands with the Associated Press and other media organizations in objecting to coverage restrictions imposed by the White House:
x.com/reuterspr/st...
x.com/reuterspr/st...
x.com
x.com
February 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Reuters stands with the Associated Press and other media organizations in objecting to coverage restrictions imposed by the White House:
x.com/reuterspr/st...
x.com/reuterspr/st...
Powerful piece by the great Robert Rosenthal (Rosey to his friends): www.motherjones.com/criminal-jus...?
My unexpected healing at San Quentin
I first came to the prison as a journalist. After my son's suicide, I returned.
www.motherjones.com
December 31, 2024 at 11:11 PM
Powerful piece by the great Robert Rosenthal (Rosey to his friends): www.motherjones.com/criminal-jus...?
A great loss for investigative reporting: www.inquirer.com/obituaries/g...
Gary Cohn, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former Inquirer reporter, has died at 72
Mr. Cohn won a Pulitzer in 1998 for an investigative series on the dangers posed to workers and the environment when old ships are dismantled. He also worked for the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
www.inquirer.com
December 28, 2024 at 5:50 PM
A great loss for investigative reporting: www.inquirer.com/obituaries/g...
Great investigative reporting job with our team: uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/in...
Thomson Reuters hiring Investigative Reporter, EMEA - Reuters in London, England, United Kingdom | LinkedIn
Posted 7:56:07 PM. We envisage the successful candidate being based in London. We are open to highly qualified…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
uk.linkedin.com
December 27, 2024 at 1:18 PM
Great investigative reporting job with our team: uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/in...
In October, nearly a quarter of all humanitarian aid sent to Gaza that month was lost because of attacks and looting, as Israel neglected a pledge to tackle gangs: www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Looting cripples food supply in Gaza as Israel neglects pledge to tackle gangs, sources say
Israel has failed to crack down on armed gangs attacking food convoys in Gaza, despite a pledge to do so in mid-October to help ward off famine in the Palestinian enclave, according to three U.N. and U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
www.reuters.com
December 24, 2024 at 2:22 PM
In October, nearly a quarter of all humanitarian aid sent to Gaza that month was lost because of attacks and looting, as Israel neglected a pledge to tackle gangs: www.reuters.com/world/middle...