Violating own policy, Meta monetized 19 Facebook pages of Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies
“I think we got around $10 last year, and it is still sitting there on Facebook. We have not withdrawn it,” said an official of Cumilla district police who manages the unit’s Facebook page.
Under Meta’s own policy, Facebook pages belonging to government agencies and institutions are not eligible for monetization. Yet at least 19 Facebook pages belonging to Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies were found to have access to earning opportunities on the platform.
These include the verified Facebook pages of Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy and the Airport Armed Police Battalion, as well as pages belonging to at least 14 district-level police offices. All of the pages are linked from different official government websites in Bangladesh. Most of them list their account category as a government organisation, police station or law enforcement agency. Despite this, Meta included the pages in its content monetization program, in violation of its own policy.
Dismislab identified the pages using Meta’s partner-publisher list and the monetization archive maintained by WHAT TO FIX, a Netherlands-based organization that works on social media monetization policy and transparency.
Several Facebook pages belonging to Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies have had earning opportunities from Meta since at least 2020. Dismislab found two such pages that joined Meta’s in-stream ads program that year. Since then, 17 more Facebook pages belonging to law enforcement agencies have joined at different times. As recently as August 2026, one page was seen joining Meta’s content monetization program for the first time.
This analysis is the second installment in Dismislab’s Meta monetization series. The first installment, published in June 2026, showed that despite restrictions on elected representatives and political figures, the verified Facebook accounts of at least 13 Bangladeshi lawmakers, including three Cabinet members, had been included in Meta’s content monetization program.
From in-stream ads to the content monetization program
The Bangladesh law enforcement Facebook pages included in Meta’s content monetization program range from national-level agencies to district police offices and specialized units. They include the verified Facebook pages of Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Navy, and the Airport Armed Police Battalion. Also included are Tourist Police Bangladesh, DIG-Rangpur Range, and multiple district police office Facebook pages (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Among the law enforcement Facebook pages, the earliest recorded instance of monetization access dates to June 6, 2020. At that time, the verified Facebook pages of Sherpur district police and Bangladesh Navy joined Facebook’s in-stream ads program.
Bangladesh Police’s main verified page was first included in a monetization program in March 2022. Several district police office Facebook pages joined in 2023. The Airport Armed Police Battalion and Tourist Police Bangladesh were included in the monetization program in January 2024.
On August 31, 2025, Meta shut down its older in-stream ads, ads on reels, and performance bonus programs and brought them under a new content monetization program. Under the new program, earning opportunities are available not only from videos, but also from photos and text posts.
An analysis of data from WHAT TO FIX’s monetization archive shows that 11 Facebook pages belonging to Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies joined Meta’s content monetization program together on September 2, 2025. Bangladesh Police’s main verified page joined on September 7 that year.
Seven Facebook pages joined Meta’s new content monetization program directly in 2025 and 2026. The most recent of these was the Narail district police Facebook page, which joined on August 22 this year.
Access to content monetization program only through Meta’s invitation
Announcing the launch of Facebook’s content monetization program, Meta wrote on one of its help pages, “Facebook content monetization is currently invite-only. Creators will receive invitations from an official, in-product Facebook or Meta channel, including the Facebook app, email, Meta Business Suite and the Professional dashboard.”
The page further states that creators who have not received an invitation can express interest in joining the program, though there is no guarantee that doing so will result in an invitation.
In other words, the 19 Bangladesh law enforcement Facebook pages also joined the content monetization program through invitations from Meta.
Although Meta’s partner-publisher policy clearly states that government institutions and agencies will not be considered for monetization, these Bangladesh law enforcement pages were nonetheless included in the content monetization program. Only two of the pages listed their category as “public figure” and “digital creator.” The remaining 17 pages listed their category as “police station,” “law enforcement agency,” “government organization,” “government official,” or “armed forces.” Even though the pages clearly identify themselves as government institutions or law enforcement agencies, Meta included them in its content monetization program in violation of its own policy.
Monetization was cut off, then reinstated
Bangladesh Police’s verified Facebook page, which has more than 2.7 million followers, has been included in three different Meta monetization programs since March 2022. An analysis of WHAT TO FIX’s monetization archive shows, however, that the page was removed from monetization programs and later reinstated on several occasions.
Bangladesh Police’s main verified Facebook page has repeatedly entered and exited Meta’s monetization programs since March 2022. This record log, obtained from WHAT TO FIX’s monetization archive, shows its history across In-stream Ads, Ads on Reels and the current Content Monetization program.
The page first joined Meta’s in-stream ads program on March 20, 2022. But just 10 days later, on April 1, it was removed from the program. The page then rejoined the in-stream ads program four more times, each time being removed again after a short period. Most recently, on July 29, 2024, it rejoined the in-stream ads program. That stint remained active until August 26, 2025. On September 7, 2025, the page was added to Meta’s new content monetization program, and it remains part of that since then.
A similar pattern appears in the case of the Chuadanga district police Facebook page. It joined Meta’s in-stream ads program on April 20, 2023, and was removed from the program on September 20 that year. The page rejoined the same program on July 15, 2025. It joined Meta’s new content monetization program on September 2, 2025 and was removed on October 20 of the same year.
A police official who manages the page claimed, “It was monetized around 2022 or 2023, but it was later blocked.” He said the page currently had no monetization. Meta’s partner-publisher list and WHAT TO FIX’s monetization archive show otherwise: the page rejoined the content monetization program on November 8, 2025, and remains active.
Chuadanga District Police’s Facebook page has moved in and out of multiple Meta monetization programs since 2023. This record log, obtained from WHAT TO FIX’s monetization archive, shows its history across In-stream Ads, Ads on Reels and the Content Monetization program, including its re-entry into Content Monetization in November 2025.
The Cumilla district police Facebook page joined the ads on reels and in-stream ads programs on August 25, 2025. Although the ads on reels program was suspended a day later, the in-stream ads program remained active. On September 2, 2025, the page was included in the content monetization program, where it remains active.
The police official who administers the page said the page had generated some income. “We have dollars on our page, but we have not been able to withdraw them,” he said. He added that the payment gateway required to withdraw earnings from Meta had not been activated.
Law enforcement pages outside Bangladesh have also been monetized
WHAT TO FIX has reported that law enforcement pages from countries beyond Bangladesh, including India, the Philippines, Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, are also included in Meta’s monetization program.
The investigation also raised an important question about how monetizing law enforcement Facebook pages could affect the nature of their communication. It stated, “Police and military units are entrusted with public safety and upholding the law, not with chasing clicks. By introducing engagement-based financial incentives, there is a risk that social media monetization services may blur that line in ways which could put financial gains ahead of people’s safety and privacy.”
Dismislab has contacted Meta for comment on this violation of policy. If any response is obtained from Meta, it will be added to this report.
Methodology
Under the definition of law enforcement agencies in the Representation of the People Order, 1972, as amended in 2026, law enforcement agencies refer to the police force, Armed Police Battalion, Rapid Action Battalion, Ansar force, Battalion Ansar, Border Guard Bangladesh, Bangladesh Coast Guard, Army, Navy and Air Force. Dismislab used this definition of law enforcement agencies for this analysis.
Dismislab collected Facebook links of these law enforcement agencies found on the official government websites, ending in .gov.bd. Whether a page was verified was not considered in this process. Links to all pages listed on the websites were included. For law enforcement agencies whose main government website had separate division- and district-level webpages, Facebook page links found on those webpages were also added to the list.
To verify whether these pages or profiles were part of Meta’s monetization program, Dismislab searched Meta’s partner-publisher list to check whether they appeared there. Dismislab also checked WHAT TO FIX’s monetization archive to determine when each page became part of Meta’s monetization program.
