Some ads for sex workers both inside and outside the US were showing up in Instagram stories recently, and though they've been removed it certainly reveals a flaw in how such ads are being screened.
The paid ads, which linked to channels on the Telegram app that promoted escort and sex-worker services, were discovered by CBS News. Some of the ads were being promoted by an account with the name Royal Garden Club that had over 100,000 followers, and that advertised "services for wealthy men" in its bio. It has since been removed.
The account appears linked to Royal Garden, an escort service maybe based in Instanbul that uses Telegram for its promotions, and is billed as a "premium dating agency for wealthy men." CBS said it found a company called R GARDEN LLP that was based in London, and the Telegram channel had ads written in both English and Russian.
Per CBS, the Telegram channel claims to provide access to "over 7,000 girls worldwide for fun dates, relationships and hot sex."
A website with the misleading, misspelled URL royalgardem.site appears to be associated with the same outfit, and says it offers "forbidden opportunities unavailable elsewhere" via Telegram. The list of US cities out of which they say they operate includes San Francisco, as well as LA, Las Vegas, Seattle, Miami, and New York.
Meta spokesperson Erin Logan confirmed to CBS News that the company had removed any accounts associated with those Instagram ads, due to clear violations of its policy against advertising any sort of "commercial sexual activity."
As CBS notes, Telegram does not have any content moderation or ad policies beyond "illegal pornographic material."
Local police departments in the Bay Area have long been aware of sex workers using social media to advertisers, and sex traffickers using social platforms as well.
The Sacramento Police Department conducted a sting operation on October 31 2023, Operation Trick R Treat, which targeted traffickers. The department said it regularly saw 24,000 escort ads in the area each month.
