Meta’s $2 Billion AI Acquisition Is Now Running Get-Rich-Quick Ads

Meta paid $2 billion for Manus last year. Now the company is running ads that look like they were ripped straight from a late-night infomercial: find local businesses with bad websites, have AI build them one, call them up, and sell it to them. Easy money, they promise.

But here’s the part that actually stinks. Manus was paying content creators to build Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok accounts that pitch this AI product as a lucrative side hustle. The creators were posting videos that looked like genuine advice — “here’s how I made $10k this month with AI” — but they conveniently left out the part where Manus was footing the bill.

The Verge noticed and asked questions. Suddenly, those TikTok accounts disappeared.

I’ve seen this playbook before. A company buys a hot AI startup, needs to show ROI to the board, and resorts to the oldest trick in the marketing book: pretend your paid promoters are real users who stumbled onto a goldmine. It’s not illegal, but it’s slimy. And it makes me wonder what else Meta is willing to overlook in the name of pushing AI adoption.

Let’s be clear: the tool itself might be fine. AI-assisted website building is a legitimate business. But the way Manus is marketing it — as a get-rich-quick scheme — is a red flag. If the product was actually good, they wouldn’t need to hide the paid relationships.

Meta’s track record with acquisitions isn’t great. Instagram and WhatsApp worked out, but for every success there’s a pile of forgotten startups. Manus cost $2 billion. That’s a lot of pressure to generate revenue fast. Fast enough to skip ethics, apparently.

I’m not saying don’t use the tool. I’m saying don’t trust the hype. If you see a TikTok telling you to “start your AI website business today,” check who’s paying for the video. Chances are, it’s not a random success story — it’s a carefully crafted ad.

And Meta? They could do better. But they won’t, as long as the ads keep running and the money keeps flowing.