Meta's fraud fight goes creator-first

On the back of India’s rapidly expanding creator economy, Meta has partnered with Safer Internet India to launch a new awareness initiative aimed at equipping content creators to help combat the rising tide of online fraud and scams.

The programme, which Meta described as a "creator-driven awareness initiative," seeks to train and support influencers to become safety advocates by producing content that informs audiences about digital scams. With a toolkit of safety features and content frameworks, the initiative also includes capacity-building sessions and hands-on workshops to prepare creators to recognise fraud trends, flag suspicious behaviour, and amplify scam-prevention messaging across Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

The move follows a spate of digital frauds that have gripped internet users in India, from phishing and impersonation attacks to fake loan schemes and OTP-based frauds. Speaking at the launch event, Nathaniel Gleicher, global head of counter fraud and director of security policy at Meta, stated that the company recognises that combatting frauds and scams requires cross-industry action and ongoing education and raising user awareness is crucial to promote a safer online environment.

"Through our partnership with Safer Internet India, we want to empower creators to spearhead conversations around digital safety. By providing them with comprehensive tools, knowledge, and ongoing support, we strive to foster a collaborative ecosystem where creators not only educate users on identifying and preventing scams but also reinforce consumer habits that include safe and informed digital behaviour," he added.

Safer Internet India, backed by nearly two dozen firms including telecom operators, fintech players and internet services that reach over half a billion users, is leading the collaborative charge. Its co-convenor Berges Malu noted, “We are excited to launch this meaningful initiative keeping the creator ecosystem at the forefront. Popular online voices are uniquely positioned to humanise complex safety information and deliver it with authenticity. This campaign is an important milestone in our broader goal of creating a digitally secure India where every user feels empowered and informed.”

The campaign comes as part of a wider push that includes Meta’s Scam se Bacho 2.0, a follow-up to last year’s scam awareness drive. This year’s iteration has rolled out digital safety messaging across high-footfall public spaces in Mumbai, targeting everyday internet users with creative treatments that explain online fraud typologies in simple, memorable formats. The creative narrative tackles common scams such as OTP theft, fake jobs, and fraudulent lending apps.

The rise in cyber fraud parallels the explosive growth of India’s creator economy. According to Boston Consulting Group’s 2025 report, titled From Content to Commerce, the country now counts between 2 to 2.5 million monetised creators who influence an estimated $350–400 billion in annual consumer spending. That figure is projected to grow to over $1 trillion by 2030.

As digital infrastructure improves and short-form video platforms take deeper root, creators are increasingly becoming central to the marketing-to-commerce journey. No longer just entertainers, creators are morphing into key drivers of consumer behaviour, product discovery, and digital trust.

This shift has not gone unnoticed by Meta, which earlier this year introduced AI-powered tools within its Instagram Creator Marketplace to assist brands in identifying the most suitable creators for partnerships. Arun Srinivas, director and head of ads business for Meta in India, commented, “The world’s largest community of Instagram creators is in India. We are seeing strong momentum in brands partnering with them to drive sales and ROAS. Meta’s creator marketing solutions such as Partnership Ads and Instagram Creator Marketplace can help brands easily discover, connect, and drive performance with creators to get the most out of these partnerships. Our new tools harness the power of AI to make creator discovery seamless for brands, boosting growth potential for brands and creators.”

These developments come at a time when brand marketers are increasingly leaning on creators to cut through the noise. Over 70% of brands plan to increase their creator budgets by 1.5 to 3x over the next 2 to 3 years, according to BCG, citing conversion goals, brand recall, and direct-to-consumer pipelines as key objectives.

However, the creator economy is far from frictionless. Monetisation remains uneven, with only 8–10% of creators in India earning sustainable incomes.

Nano and micro-influencers dominate the landscape, with a large segment earning under INR 18,000 per month. Comparatively, creators in mature markets such as the US and Brazil see stronger monetisation, helped by higher per capita content consumption and a broader base of paying users.

Beyond brand tie-ups, BCG suggests that creators must diversify revenue streams. New models such as live commerce, virtual gifting and subscription-based communities are seen as the next big unlock. Yet, price sensitivity in India and lack of scale in non-brand monetisation have proven limiting.

Meanwhile, the central government is eyeing the creator economy as a growth engine. WAVES 2025, the country’s first World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, held in Mumbai this May, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and focused heavily on India’s content ecosystem. With over 10,000 delegates and 1,000 creators in attendance, the event marked a strategic shift in how policymakers view the economic potential of digital creators.

At the event, PM Modi remarked that the creator economy is bringing “new energy” to India's aspirations of becoming a $5 trillion economy, spotlighting influencers from across regions as critical players in India's cultural and economic narrative. The government has since announced a $1 billion fund for creator development, alongside Rs INR crore earmarked for the new Indian Institute of Creative Technology.

The data reflects a steep upward curve. According to Qoruz, a platform tracking influencer trends, India’s creator base ballooned from 962,000 in 2020 to over 4 million in 2024—a 322% growth. Influencers focused on travel, parenting, gaming and fashion are among the fastest growing, with sharp surges in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, where digital engagement is rapidly accelerating.

While brands increasingly depend on creator content to build trust and influence purchase decisions, concerns remain over fake followers, ROI clarity and brand safety. The Meta-Safer Internet India initiative is therefore not just a fraud-awareness campaign—it’s a case study in how platforms and coalitions are now pushing creators to also be custodians of digital ethics.

As creators scale their influence and as scam risks evolve in sophistication, their role in fostering a trustworthy online environment will likely intensify. With the partnership banking on creators to become frontline defenders against digital deception, the campaign offers both a test and an opportunity: can creator authenticity be harnessed for public good?

For agencies and brand marketers, the initiative underscores a larger trend: creators are no longer just content studios; they’re reputation anchors in an ecosystem where trust is currency. Watching closely will be the entire ad industry—not just for how creators inform, but how convincingly they can protect.