SAN FRANCISCO _ Facebook’s troubles with Russian election meddlers, “fake news” and misused data have dominated headlines globally.
But the scandal doesn’t seem to be affecting Facebook’s bottom line so far, as advertisers continue to flock to the site in droves.
Facebook’s revenue, which largely derives from ads, soared 49 per cent to $12 billion in the first three months of the year. Profit jumped 63 per cent to $5 billion.
And despite a buzzy “DeleteFacebook” online campaign, both daily and monthly user numbers increased.
Since the story broke, there have been rumblings that advertisers would flee the platform. But in the aggregate they have shrugged off the scandals, as have users. More than 1.45 billion people check Facebook at least once a day, a 13 per cent increase from a year earlier.