AppLovin Drama, Meta’s AI, & WhatsApp’s Quiet Rise

AppLovin is back in the news. 

As the platform continues to push aggressively into DTC and hit new heights on the stock market, more claims of malfeasance are starting to pile up. Despite that, a lot of big brands continue to see good results…

This week, we’re diving into the AppLovin drama and then moving on to what’s working on Meta and WhatsApp:

1️⃣ The AppLovin Controversy – A new short-seller report accuses AppLovin of inflating revenue and gaming attribution. But top advertisers say the results are real. Who’s right?

2️⃣ Meta’s Latest Ad Tactics – Performance marketers are refining their approach with AI-powered creative and new campaign structures. What’s working, what’s not?

3️⃣ WhatsApp’s Rise in DTC – A quiet revolution is happening in ecommerce: WhatsApp is emerging as a powerful direct sales channel. Are brands paying attention?

Let’s get into it. 👇

1️⃣ The AppLovin Controversy – Fraud or Just Another Short Attack?

AppLovin is at the center of a heated debate after short-seller Fuzzy Panda Research released a report accusing the company of fraudulent revenue practices and misleading investors. 

The report claims that AppLovin is gaming attribution, inflating ad revenue, and relying on questionable tactics to sustain its meteoric growth. (Source)

What Are the Short Sellers Claiming?

• AppLovin’s revenue is artificially inflated – The report alleges that a significant portion of AppLovin’s ad revenue comes from low-quality or non-existent traffic, particularly from gaming apps incentivizing users with rewards to watch ads.

• AppLovin is siphoning credit from Meta and TikTok ads – Short sellers claim that AppLovin ads are being credited for conversions that were actually driven by other platforms, misleading marketers into overvaluing its performance.

• CTR (Click-Through Rate) manipulation? – The report argues that AppLovin’s reported 30-40% CTRs are “too good to be true,” far above industry norms.

Why Advertisers Are Pushing Back

But is AppLovin just another ad tech flash in the pan? Big-spending brands are reporting strong performance.

🗣️ Sean Frank, who spent $180,000 on AppLovin ads in February alone, says the results are real—his ROAS data shows that AppLovin is driving genuine, profitable sales. He argues that the short sellers don’t actually care about ad performance—they just need a reason for their puts to pay off. 

📊 Jonathan Snow says that AppLovin’s performance is on par with Meta’s for many brands, and that the claims of unrealistically high CTRs are exaggerated. He states that his team has seen CTR in the 7-8% range, not the 30-40% rates that short sellers claim are fake.

His thread goes over questionable claims in the short seller report, as well as things that seem accurate.

The Attribution Debate: Is AppLovin Overstating Its Impact?

Despite strong performance claims, some marketers remain skeptical about how much of AppLovin’s success is truly incremental.

📉 Jeremiah Prummer of KnoCommerce says that only 27% of customers who clicked an AppLovin ad actually reported first discovering the brand there. A whopping 30% credited Meta, despite the final conversion being attributed to AppLovin. (Source)

💡 Haus tested AppLovin across multiple brands. Their findings? Results varied wildly. Some brands saw significant incremental lift, while others showed AppLovin getting too much credit for conversions that started elsewhere. (Source)

So, What’s the Real Story?

If you believe the short sellers: AppLovin is a house of cards, gaming attribution to inflate its ad performance and stock price.

If you trust the advertisers: The platform is simply a more effective ad channel than people realize, and its valuation reflects genuine performance gains.

If you’re in the middle: The truth is likely somewhere between—AppLovin is delivering real value for some brands but may also be overstating its incrementality in others.

Takeaway: Should Brands Keep Testing?

There’s a reason why Ridge Wallet spent $4M on AppLovin ads in Q4—it works for now. But if AppLovin’s incrementality is suspect or if its growth is fueled by low-quality gaming audiences, it could be another Snapchat ad boom-and-bust cycle.

🔍 What to do: If you’re using AppLovin, run incrementality tests via tools like Northbeam, Triple Whale, or Haus, and compare results against Meta, TikTok, and Google. If you see significant overlap in attribution, it may not be the game-changer it seems.

META ADVERTISING STRATEGIES: WHAT'S WORKING IN 2025 

Meta’s AI-driven ad ecosystem is forcing brands to adapt or die. Here’s what the community says is working:

🎨 1. Creative Volume & Diversity Matter More Than Ever

• Cody Plofker: Scaling brands are pumping out 5-10x more creatives per week than before.

• AI tools like Deep Research are improving audience insights, but human-led storytelling still wins

📊 2. Let the machine decide?

• Bart (@TheSzef): Ran fully automated Meta Advantage+ campaigns and saw 65% YoY growth (Twitter)

• The CEO of Dad Gang accepted all of Meta’s optimizations on his ads - and it’s crushing for him. Maybe something to test?

🎯 3. TOF Targeting: Smart Exclusions = Better Cold Audiences

• Peter Quadrel: Instead of hyper-targeting, focus on broad audiences + strict exclusions (block existing customers, ad engagers, etc.) 

• Reels dominate TOF—Meta prioritizes short-form video for discovery

🛑 4. Whitelisting Wins: Fixing Meta When Performance Dips

• Ashvin Melwani: When Meta performance tanked, he whitelisted influencer content and saw immediate improvement (Twitter)

• Raw, direct-to-camera storytelling beats polished ad creatives

Takeaway: If your Meta performance is slipping, increase creative volume, test auto optimizations, dial in your exclusions, and whitelist influencer content.

3. THE QUIET RISE OF WHATSAPP COMMERCE: MESSAGING AS THE NEW STOREFRONT

WhatsApp is quietly dominating in 2025, becoming a DTC powerhouse while TikTok Shop hogs the spotlight. 

Brands using WhatsApp for conversational commerce are seeing 40% higher engagement rates than email.

🚀 Why This Matters:

• Messaging is the new storefront: Customers prefer 1:1 conversations over impersonal ads

• Emerging markets are ahead: WhatsApp Commerce is booming in India & Brazil, but U.S. brands are late to the party

• Less competition: Unlike Meta & TikTok, WhatsApp isn’t oversaturated (yet)

🛍 How Brands Are Using WhatsApp:

• Opt-in subscriber lists: Just like email, but with higher open rates (98%)

• AI-enhanced chatbots: Automate product recommendations & customer support

• Checkout inside chat: Customers complete purchases without leaving WhatsApp

Takeaway: Brands should start testing WhatsApp broadcast lists & personalized shopping experiences now—before the competition catches up.

Quick Hits:

• A quick guide on how to massively cut shipping costs 

• Wild sells to Unilever for $286M after hitting $58M in revenue last year

• A take on how Brez overcame the “DTC Beverage” challenge

• An AI prompt to help you generate winning ads

• AI ad platform Icon can now help brands make UGC mashups