Meta Projected $16B From Scam Ads, and Rogan Can't Believe It

Hey, we're live. Joe Rogan just found out Meta projected $16B from scam ads, TikTok reportedly wiped peptide content off the app, and food prices hit a record. Nate Lagos of Bottoms Up is guest host, with Phoenix Ha and Jordan Menard launching a product, Adam Kitain of Intelligems, and Jeff Tang on peptides. Watch the show live →

✶ THE CURRENT THING ✶ AD PLATFORMS

Joe Rogan's reaction is going viral: "Holy sh*t!" The number comes from internal Meta documents reviewed by Reuters last November. Meta projected about 10% of its 2024 revenue, roughly $16B, would come from scam and banned-goods ads, and estimated users see 15 billion "higher risk" scam ads a day (Net Influencer, The Vigilant Fox on X).

The part that set Rogan off: Meta only bans an advertiser when it's at least 95% sure of fraud. Below that, suspected scammers pay "penalty bids," higher rates to keep running. Rogan: "If you're charging more money, that means you know something's wrong with this ad" (Joe Rogan Podcast News on X). Meta says the documents "present a selective view."

✶ PLATFORMS

Polymarket: "TikTok has reportedly banned all peptide-related content from the platform" (Polymarket on X). Jeff Tang says searching "bpc-157" now shows "No results found" (Jeff Tang on X). The same day, RFK Jr. pushed for a regulated peptide marketplace: "Americans are going to be buying these anyway" (Polymarket on X).

✶ CONSUMER

Food prices have surged 34.5% since December 2019, rent is up 33.3%, and car repair is up 55.2%, while overall CPI rose 30.4% (The Kobeissi Letter on X). Jay Leno sees the result everywhere: "The middle is dead... With hotels, you're either at the Motel 6 or the Four Seasons" (TBPN on X).

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HandsFree Labs, the company behind Kizik, launched Blue Ox, hands-free step-in work boots for tradespeople who pull boots on and off all shift. It's DTC-only for now with a 30-day risk-free trial. COO Jason Lee: "It's like putting wheels on luggage" (Retail Brew).

Amazon plans to hire more than 300,000 seasonal workers, up 20% from last year, at about $20 an hour, while overall U.S. holiday hiring is projected to hit its lowest level since 2008 (Walter Bloomberg on X). Mike Beckham: "Amazon is the best place to make contribution profit in e-commerce" (Mike Beckham on X).

Go Brewing launched Cold Standard, a 45-calorie non-alcoholic lite beer, by recruiting people who barely post. There's no follower minimum: recruits get free beer and share it in person with a friend. The tagline: "Most people aren't the guy doing the most" (BevNET).

marro makes a sparkling, fruit-flavored bone broth with 12g of protein, zero sugar and 60 calories a can, in Blueberry Lemonade, Peach Mango and Blackberry Lime. It just landed in about 50 Raley's, Nob Hill and Bel Air stores at $5.99 a can (BevNET).

PlayStation dropped a limited LISA × PlayStation DualSense controller, and the launch video pulled 1.7M views in a day (PlayStation on X). A K-pop star on a gaming controller is a strange overlap on paper. The views say the fan base doesn't care whether it makes sense.

Roc Nation's NFL deal lets Jay-Z pick the halftime performer. According to Puck News, he looked past Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber and picked himself. Morning Brew's take: "who you know is still the most important part of getting hired" (Morning Brew).