China's Temu may have spent as much as $962 millionon Meta ads in the UK and Europe, with 73 of its top 100 creators likely fake

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.

Of the 100 creators whose content was most heavily boosted by Temu across the UK and Europe, 73 were likely fake accounts, according to research by Online Risk Labs (ORL). Only eight of the top 100 creators were verified as real identities, while 28 were based in Russia and 19 in China. Just six were based in the EU or UK.

One of the accounts identified in the research belongs to Ya Lili, who has about 183,000 followers on Instagram under the handle “@findgadgetswithme”. The account posts videos promoting Temu products, including a recent video featuring a shower scrubber, with a link directing viewers to Temu.


According to 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 listed location is “England, Birmingham, MO, United States”, while its bio says “You are my dream of dead”. The account’s email address also appears to be Chinese.

ORL said Temu-boosted posts from the account were viewed more than 1 billion times across Facebook and Instagram during the 16 months ending in April 2026. The content appeared in nearly 109,541 Temu ad campaigns, equivalent to about 225 campaigns a day.

ORL estimates that Temu spent as much as $962 million on similar ads across the UK and 27 EU countries during the period. The estimate is based on total impressions and average cost per reach. The research group estimates that Temu accounts for nearly 2% of Meta’s revenue from the continent in any given quarter.

“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 also raise regulatory questions, as European advertising rules prohibit misleading commercial practices. Stuart Lester, who leads the advertising and marketing group at London law firm Mishcon de Reya, said accounts presented as real individuals when they are not could potentially breach those rules.

“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 works with such accounts or is itself being deceived by scammers. There is also no evidence that the products or advertisements promoted through the accounts are themselves 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.

The findings also highlight the growing challenge posed by AI-generated content, automated account creation and performance-optimisation systems in digital advertising, as such tools become more prevalent across the industry.