A Manhattan Institute researcher has highlighted concerns about benefit fraud across different states, with particular attention to California's scale of fraudulent activity. Chris Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discussed the scope of benefit fraud issues during a recent podcast appearance.

Rufo, who previously examined fraud problems in Minnesota's Somali community, characterized California's benefit fraud situation as significantly larger in scale. He made these comments during an interview on the "Pod Force One" podcast.

Separately, Meta's Facebook platform is facing scrutiny over Medicare scam advertisements that allegedly targeted older Americans. According to a new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), these ads promoted fake Medicare benefit offers to senior citizens.

The CCDH report claims that fraudulent Medicare advertisements reached older users through Facebook's advertising platform. These ads allegedly presented false information about Medicare benefits and services to vulnerable populations.

Meta has responded to the allegations by stating that the company actively works to combat scam advertisements on its platforms. The social media company emphasized its efforts to identify and remove fraudulent content that targets users with deceptive offers.

Both situations highlight ongoing challenges with fraud prevention, whether in government benefit programs or online advertising platforms targeting vulnerable populations.