From Sri Lanka to Canada: The Global Evolution of ‘Chameleon Ads’ on Meta’s Platforms
Writing independently, Sanjana Hattotuwa connected Social Media Lab’s Canadian ‘Chameleon ads’ investigation to earlier Sri Lankan waves of Facebook and Instagram crypto-scam advertising that impersonated journalists, ministers, the prime minister, the president and news outlets. He argues that the Canadian cases reflect tactics already developed in the Global South and highlights how disappearing Ad Library records obstruct comparative research.
Executive summary
AI-generatedThis summary was generated by AI from the original report to make it easier to scan and cite. It is not a substitute for the source. Read the original above.
Sanjana Hattotuwa’s independently published analysis places Social Media Lab’s Canadian ‘Chameleon ads’ finding in a longer Global South history. Drawing on ads he observed and preserved around Sri Lanka’s 2024 presidential election and afterward, he describes recurring cryptocurrency scams that used the likenesses of journalists, the foreign minister, other members of parliament, the prime minister, the central bank governor and the president.
The Sri Lankan campaigns shared the Canadian cases’ use of fake news websites, political figures and rapidly changing advertisements delivered through Facebook and Instagram. Hattotuwa argues that these techniques were already being tested and refined in Sri Lanka before gaining attention in Canada, challenging narratives that treat the phenomenon as a Global North first.
He also corroborates the transparency problem identified by Social Media Lab: reported ads often disappeared from Meta’s Ad Library before their spread, provenance and scale could be studied. The article is personal commentary by Hattotuwa, who is affiliated with ICT4Peace Foundation; it is not presented as an institutional ICT4Peace report.
Think this summary is wrong? Contact us.