Whistleblower claims Meta inflated Shops Ads performance
Former product manager alleges shipping fees and subsidies were used to boost ecommerce ad metrics.
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Meta has been accused of artificially inflating the performance of its ecommerce advertising product, Shops ads, according to a whistleblower complaint filed in a U.K. court.
The complaint, lodged with the London Central Employment Tribunal on August 20 by former Meta product manager Samujjal Purkayastha, alleges that the company exaggerated the return on ad spend (ROAS) of Shops ads by 17–19%. The inflation, he claimed, stemmed from Meta counting shipping fees and taxes as part of sales revenue, money that never went to merchants.
Not new to such allegations, it is to be noted that in 2024 also, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram was accused of artificially inflating the audience figures of its ads. A group of advertisers had then filed a complaint, alleging that Meta has exaggerated data on the reach and views of its ads, leading to wrong investment decisions.
The complainants claim that the inflated figures led them to believe that their campaigns were reaching a much larger audience, resulting in an unjustified increase in their advertising budgets. According to them, this manipulation has distorted the metrics they use to measure the effectiveness of their advertising strategies.
In latest complaint, Purkayastha alleged that Meta subsidized advertiser bids in auctions and applied undisclosed discounts to make Shops ads appear more effective than competing ad products, according to a Adweek report.
The whistleblower said the company’s motivation was partly linked to Apple’s 2021 privacy changes, which cut off access to iOS tracking data and were projected by then-CFO David Wehner to cost Meta around $10 billion in revenue. Purkayastha, who joined Meta in 2020 and was reassigned to the Shops ads team in March 2022, alleged that internal reviews in 2024 revealed the inflation in ad performance. Without the artificial boosts, Shops ads performed no better than Meta’s traditional ads, he claimed.
He said he raised concerns with senior leadership between 2022 and 2024 but was terminated in February 2025. His filing seeks interim relief, asking for reinstatement, though a tribunal judge has already rejected that request, saying his dismissal may have been due to personal or broader layoff factors.
A full hearing is expected next year. A Meta spokesperson reportedly told media that the company is actively defending these proceedings and allegations are without merit.
