When a few advertisements for topics he had just been discussing appeared in a Facebook user’s newsfeed, he became uneasy.

One evening, a 40-year-old guy who wished to remain anonymous was talking in-depth on his mobile phone to his grandmother about how to remove a tree stump from her lawn.

The journalist then noticed an odd Amazon advertisement for a large “copper tree stump killer” nail appear on his Facebook feed the next morning.

He had never looked up anything related to tree stumps on his phone or computer before or after the talk, nor had he “liked” or commented on the topic anywhere, let alone looked up how to get rid of them.

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When Facebook users search for things online or click on particular web articles, data is frequently captured and saved on the device.

The user’s Facebook newsfeed may then shortly thereafter contain a “targeted” advertisement based on their most recent search.

This incident made Steven feel “creeped out,” as if the social media behemoth were secretly listening to his phone calls.

He was discussing summer vacations in general with his companion the morning he saw the advertisement and even used the word “jetting off” once.

This time, an advertisement for summer vacations from Jet2.com and Jet2holidays appeared on his newsfeed less than one hour after the talk.

These events throughout the years helped spread the Big Brother-style rumor that Facebook can listen in on its users’ conversations via their phones’ microphones and then send them targeted advertisements.

The CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, has categorically refuted these allegations and called them a “conspiracy.”

In April 2018, he said to a US congressman in Congress: “You’re discussing the unfounded rumor that we listen to what you say into your microphone and utilize it for advertising. We avoid doing that.”

Steven asked Facebook if it had access to his microphone in reaction to the advertisements he had seen; as of this writing, no response had been received.

But according to a business statement from 2016: “Facebook does not alter the content of your News Feed or use your phone’s microphone to inform advertisements.

“According to some recent papers, in order to offer individuals relevant adverts, we need to be listening in on their discussions. That is untrue.

“We show ads based on people’s interests and other profile information – not what you’re talking out loud about.

“We only access your microphone if you have given our app permission and if you are actively using a specific feature that requires audio.

“This might include recording a video or using an optional feature we introduced two years ago to include music or other audio in your status updates.”

However, there have been previous instances of people being purportedly targeted by Facebook advertisements through their microphones.

Another journalist, Tyler Mears, received promotions for oddball stuff like stab vests and feminine hygiene products that she had never looked for and had only discussed in person.

Readers of the Mirror shared similar Facebook advertisement experiences, with some describing it as “just plain frightening” and assuming they had been “spied on.”

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