It's a complete mystery to me how Facebook operates. Like, they need money to keep the lights on, right? Where is the money coming from if no humans are using the platform?

Ad duopoly with Google.

Half of all humans on Earth uses Meta products (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Threads). These products are free for you to use. But for Meta, your attention is the product which they sell to advertisers.

99% of their revenue comes from ads, and 1% comes from VR stuff.

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Government funded!

Yes, erm, why do you think they get the tax breaks!

isn't the money coming from advertisers placing ads, even if no one is really paying the placed ads attention?

An astonishing number of people use Facebook daily, and Instagram is also a huge revenue generator. The company itself is thriving despite terrible products.