Meta faces class action over deepfake scams using celebrity doctor
Victims claim Facebook and Instagram turned into “fraud factories” targeting local users.
Dr. Chen Kugel, director of Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine and a well-known public figure, has filed a motion with the District Court to approve a class action lawsuit against Meta. Kugel alleges that Meta enables what he calls a “wave of online fraud,” dubbed the “algorithmic sting,” through its paid advertising platforms on Facebook and Instagram.
According to the claim, Meta’s paid advertising tools have become a fertile ground for distributing fake, manipulative, and persuasive content to carefully segmented audiences, with the goal of stealing money from unsuspecting victims. These scams specifically target Israeli users, are conducted in Hebrew, and often impersonate well-known Israeli celebrities and brands.
In the class action, filed through attorneys Ohad Rosen and Yael Wiesel of Kalai-Rosen & Co., Dr. Kugel, one of Israel’s most senior pathologists, says he recently discovered that his name, image, and even voice have been hijacked for a sophisticated online scam. According to Kugel, sponsored ads on Meta’s networks promoted dubious health products using his likeness without consent. One scam used his image next to the Israeli Ministry of Health logo to promote a food supplement for diabetes treatment, a fake cure made from onions soaked in cola. The ads even included fabricated “interviews” and transcripts of things he never said.
Later, deepfake videos emerged showing a fake version of Kugel, speaking in his real voice, pushing additional bogus products. The goal was to steal victims’ credit card details by exploiting vulnerable people searching for medical solutions.
Kugel and the Institute have since received countless inquiries from people exposed to the ads, some asking for more information about his supposed recommendations, others demanding refunds after being overcharged. Some people even considered stopping their prescribed diabetes medication, a proven treatment, to try the fake “solution” falsely endorsed by Kugel. “My good name is priceless to me,” Kugel wrote in his affidavit. “As head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, my credibility and trustworthiness are critical.”
The request argues that social networks, with Meta at the forefront, have become the main channel for sophisticated online fraud. A recent Israeli Internet Association report states that scams once spread mainly by text or email have shifted to closed, algorithm-driven platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. On these platforms, scammers exploit targeted advertising tools to reach people based on personal data and behavior, adapting scams in real time.
Deepfake technology plays a central role. By using AI tools to create fake videos that appear to show respected public figures endorsing scams, criminals create a veneer of legitimacy. For example, the request claims that fake “stock investment” operations now use deepfakes to lure victims into “exclusive groups” on WhatsApp, another Meta-owned platform. Inside these groups, fake stock tips are used to pump share prices so scammers can dump their holdings for huge profits, leaving victims with the losses.
The lawsuit says there are two main types of victims: public figures whose identities are forged (like Dr. Kugel) and consumers who fall for the fake content (like a teacher named in the lawsuit who lost thousands of dollars buying shares in worthless companies after being targeted by fraudulent Facebook ads).
The plaintiffs argue that Meta’s entire business model is built on advertising, which accounts for about 97% of its revenue. “Meta has a clear interest in not truly tackling this fraud, because it profits massively from it,” the lawsuit states. They claim Meta fails to block scam ads or monitor them quickly and effectively.
Dr. Lior Zalmanson, a researcher in digital media user behavior, provided an expert opinion: “The findings show a clear systemic failure, an economic model that encourages fraud, technology that amplifies it, and an unwillingness to implement real solutions. Meta’s platform isn’t neutral, it’s an active infrastructure for fraud. Unless incentives change, the problem will only grow.”
