"GREATEST CON MAN IN HISTORY"

Greenspan says that Facebook's claim of reaching 2 billion people is a lie, and that over half of Facebook's users may be fake. The report claims that...“Facebook has been lying to the public about the scale of its problem with fake accounts, which likely exceed 50% of its network,”

For years I have been saying that Facebook's numbers are a joke and that anyone who believes them is an idiot. But I've never thought the scale of their deceit was this deep. As I reported several weeks ago, in a recent 12-month period Facebook removed 2.8 billion fake accounts. If Greenspan is right, there are plenty remaining and Facebook is guilty of an enormous fraud. People should be going to jail.

If you doubt that there is a vibrant market for fake Facebook accounts, just search "buy Facebook accounts" and have a look for yourself.

Greenspan and Zuckerberg are a fun couple whose relationship goes back years. Greenspan is credited by some as being the guy at Harvard who invented the idea for Facebook which Zuckerberg "borrowed." In 2008 he sued Zuckerberg over a trademark dispute .

Greenspan is founder of a software company called Think Computer and runs a legal research website called PlainSite on which the report -- called Reality Check -- was published.

If Greenspan's claim proves to have merit, Facebook has screwed advertisers out of billions of dollars. Now who could have predicted that?

One kid named Ryan earned an estimated $22 million last year. The truly horrifyiing  part of this is that the story has generated almost no disgust in adland. Our industry has become so debauched that no amount of squalor is shocking.

Advertising Still Not Dead

Despite all the bullshit you read about the "death of advertising," ad spending in the U.S. grew 4.1% last year. I think most of us would have been pretty happy if our 401k grew at that rate.

Compliments of MediaPost, here are some Top 10 charts -- US Top Advertisers, and US Top Categories (in millions)

It is predicted that P&G could become the #1 radio spender in 2019. Why? According to one P&G exec, “...CPG giants have grown frustrated by narrow digital-ad targeting. P&G wants to speak to everyone..." Radio has the highest reach of any medium, reaching 93% of Americans every week.

BTW, according to The Wall Street Journal, in the most recent quarter P&G posted the "strongest sales growth in five years."

His logic goes like this. All the horrifying practices that Facebook is guilty of are justified because it helps them deliver "more relevant" advertising. As if the people of the world are out in the streets demanding more relevant advertising and are willing to give up anything to get it. It's such an absurd argument only an oaf like Zuckerberg could make it with a straight face.

And, in case you've forgotten the depth of Facebook's odiousness, here's what the Journal reported a few months ago about Facebook's new user agreement. In short...

   - FB maintains the right to collect your phone number and other information about you  when anyone, including people you don't know, upload their contacts that may include you.
   - Even when you turn off location services, FB tracks your location through Wi-Fi access points, cell towers and IP addresses.
   - You probably think FB is collecting data about you from the device you're using. Silly you. If you are anywhere near any other devices on your network they are collecting info from those devices as well. It's magic!
   -  FB tracks you through third parties whether or not you are logged into Facebook.
And the pièce de résistance...
   - Facebook's new data policy asserts that they track you even if you don't have a Facebook account.

Yeah, but so what? We're getting more relevant advertising!

Anti-Social Media

The British health minister is making front page news in the UK today by threatening to shut down social media unless they "'purge' material promoting self-harm and suicide in the wake of links to a teenager's suicide."

This comes after reports of the suicide of a 14--year-old girl who reportedly took her own life after viewing disturbing content on Instagram (owned by Facebook.) A charity that works to prevent teen suicide said they had been contacted by 30 families who believe that social media played a role in the suicides of their children.

The minister said, "If we think they need to do things they are refusing to do, then we can and we must legislate."                                                                                    H/T Andrew Hall

I only received two nitwit comments. One from a genius who assumed that if I didn't appreciate the Gillette thing I must be in favor of cigarette advertising (huh?) Second from a scholar who accused me of being old. I guess that's a felony in certain enlightened circles.

- I HIGHLY recommend this piece about "How Google Tracks Your Personal Information"

- I LOVE a good shit fight among aristocrats. WPP and Sir Martin Sorrell are at each others' throats again. According to The Wall Street Journal, WPP is asking Sorrell to repay company money they claim he used to furnish his NY apartment and go on ski trips. Apparently they're not asking for any hooker money back.

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