Facebook is paying controversial creators to produce rage-bait content

A achromatic nationalist pinch neo-Nazi links who hurled racist maltreatment astatine the Indian premier curate during his sojourn past period is being paid by Facebook's genitor company, Meta, to nutrient content.

An ABC NEWS Verify investigation into respective arguable Australian pages connected Facebook has recovered that immoderate are benefiting straight from societal media monetisation programs tally by Meta.

Hugo Lennon is simply a far-right agitator who was formally moved connected by Victoria Police for shouting profanities and racist maltreatment astatine Narendra Modi astatine a Melbourne hotel.

He has been receiving gross done Facebook's "Content Monetization" programme since September 2025.

Mr Lennon has been photographed pinch known neo-Nazis and has interacted pinch them online.

His caller Facebook videos see his outburst astatine the Indian PM, and others referencing achromatic supremacist concepts for illustration replacement mentation and remigration.

The Noticer, a far-right Australian news website that regularly promotes achromatic supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies, has been making money done the aforesaid Facebook gross programme since November 2025.

There is simply a short play from January 11 to February 15 erstwhile it stopped earning money for chartless reasons.

The Noticer is presently suspended from its X relationship pinch a announcement that the relationship is "temporarily unavailable because it violates the X Hateful Profile Policy".

A page promoting the anti-immigration group "March for Australia", which besides has adjacent ties to neo-Nazis, registered for the programme successful December 2025.

Monica Smit, the laminitis of the anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown group Reignite Democracy Australia, joined Facebook's contented monetisation programme successful September 2025.

She appears to person been earning advertizing gross done Facebook from arsenic acold backmost arsenic 2017.

Her page features vaccine misinformation and promotes the waste of "radiation protection" bracelets done her individual website.

Hugo Lennon, Monica Smit, The Noticer and March for Australia did not respond to requests for comment.

Invitation only

Facebook distributed astir $US3 cardinal ($4.27 billion) to an estimated 16.2 cardinal monetised accounts successful 2025.

Meta has published regular disclosures relating to these "partner-publishers" since 2019.

Tech argumentation and accountability non-profit What To Fix collates this earthy information into a searchable archive that was utilized by ABC NEWS Verify for this investigation.

According to Facebook, the monetisation strategy that Hugo Lennon, Monica Smit, March for Australia and The Noticer look to beryllium profiting from is "an invitation-only programme that lets you gain money from the capacity of your eligible nationalist reels, photos, stories and matter posts."

What To Fix executive head Victoire Rio said it meant that, successful effect, Facebook was successful a business narration pinch these group and organisations.

"If we see that Meta is successful a nonstop commercialized narration pinch its publishers, insofar that they're paying them royalties and that they person a monetisation statement pinch them, past you could reason that they are liable for the contented that gets produced by their business partner successful immoderate ways."

Ms Rio said she was nary longer amazed by immoderate of the pages Meta was choosing to monetise.

"We've really encountered accounts affiliated pinch sanctioned entities that were portion of those programs," she said.

"It's rather communal that we spot accounts that are very intelligibly successful usurpation of their policies getting through.

"I deliberation the mobility present really is: is the value of the enforcement of those policies that they have."

Policy Violation

The pages examined by ABC NEWS Verify each appeared astatine times to beryllium successful nonstop usurpation of Facebook's ain policies astir contented monetisation.

They authorities that "debated societal issues" specified arsenic title "may look reduced aliases restricted monetisation", while "misleading aesculapian information" is "ineligible to monetise".

Independent right-wing extremism interrogator Kaz Ross said paying arguable creators was a deliberate strategy from Meta.

"Their financial exemplary is to reward contented creators who get engagement, and arsenic we know, the champion measurement of getting engagement is to nutrient rage bait, extremist material, aggravating material: thing that will get group upset and arguing is the champion measurement to get engagement," Dr Ross said.

Meta did not reply circumstantial questions astir these pages and their contented but provided a wide statement.

"We person clear policies successful spot which anyone utilizing our monetisation devices must comply with.

"When Content Monetisation Pages break our Community Standards, we use penalties specified arsenic temporarily aliases permanently disabling their expertise to gain connected our platforms.

"Creators aliases publishers who many times breach these policies will beryllium removed from our platforms."

The institution besides said it was, "important to separate betwixt reside that is violative and contented that could perchance lead to offline violence".

"Such reside whitethorn beryllium violative to many, but it is not Meta's domiciled to constabulary offensiveness," it said.

'Any magnitude is excessively much'

It is unclear precisely really overmuch money these circumstantial creators person made from their Facebook pages arsenic this accusation is not made nationalist by Meta.

Dr Ross said immoderate magnitude was excessively much.

"It's morally bankrupt to do that, to cognize that these group are producing contented that's successful breach of your ain regulations, yet you're really not conscionable allowing them, but you're encouraging them by paying them," she said.

Meta is besides 1 of the fewer societal media giants that discloses immoderate accusation astir who it is paying. Other platforms, for illustration YouTube, TikTok and Twitter, person very small transparency successful this space.

"I deliberation successful general, Meta has been much forthcoming pinch transparency and that's thing that should beryllium lauded," What To Fix's Victoire Rio said.

"It's still a very debased bar, and the mobility present is to really push for each platforms to astatine slightest meet that barroom and if not really spell higher,' she said.