Temu may have spent as much as $962 million on Meta ads promoted through accounts that likely do not represent real influencers. According to research reviewed by Fortune, 73 of the 100 creators whose content was most heavily boosted by the Chinese online retailer in the UK and Europe were likely fake accounts, raising questions about how the company’s advertising budget is being used on Facebook and Instagram.One of those accounts belongs to Ya Lili, who has about 183,000 followers on Instagram under the handle “@findgadgetswithme.” Her videos promote Temu products, including one recent post featuring a shower scrubber. The video shows a man covered in dirt before a woman appears and demonstrates the product. A link below the video directs viewers to Temu.According to Online Risk Labs (ORL), Ya Lili was Temu’s top creator for partnership ads on Meta platforms in the UK and Europe. The research suggests the account almost certainly does not represent a real person.
Real money going to fake accounts
Ya Lili also has about 129,000 followers on Facebook, where the account uses the name “Must good.” Its location is listed as “England, Birmingham, MO, United States,” while its bio says “You are my dream of dead.” Its email address also appears to be Chinese.Posts from the account were boosted by Temu and viewed more than 1 billion times across Facebook and Instagram during the 16 months ending in April 2026, according to ORL. The account’s content appeared in nearly 109,541 Temu ad campaigns, or about 225 campaigns per day.ORL estimates Temu spent as much as $962 million on similar ads in the UK and 27 EU countries during the period. The estimate is based on total impressions and average cost per reach. The group estimates Temu accounts for nearly 2% of Meta’s revenue from the continent in any given quarter.Of the top 100 creators working with Temu, only eight were verified with a real identity, according to ORL. Twenty-eight were based in Russia and 19 in China, while only six were based in the EU or UK“Among the top 100 influencers collaborating with Temu, there are certainly some real people among them. In my estimate, however, they account for no more than 15–20%. By contrast, I have serious doubts about the authenticity of accounts that, according to the platform, are based in Russia, China, or Iran,” ORL manager Vendula Prokůpková told Fortune.
Legal questions for Temu
The findings could raise regulatory questions because European advertising rules prohibit misleading commercial practices. Stuart Lester, who leads the advertising and marketing group at London law firm Mishcon de Reya, said fake accounts presented as real individuals could breach regulations.“By all means utilise Facebook and Instagram and influencers, but know that there are rules that you have to abide by, and you certainly can’t be creating fake accounts and portraying these as real individuals. That’s misleading on many levels,” Reya explained.It remains unclear whether Temu knowingly uses such accounts or is being deceived by scammers. There is also no evidence that the Temu products or advertisements themselves are fraudulent.ORL has filed a report with the EU’s Digital Services Act regulator asking it to assess the risks associated with Temu’s influencer accounts. Creators augmented with AI production processes and performance-optimisation algorithms are only going to become more prevalent across the industry, and this seems to fit squarely into that bucket.
