How Meta Ads Work for Publishers and Media

Documented by Meta. The steps and rules on this page come from Meta’s own documentation.

Publishers deal with Meta ads in two ways. As an advertiser, a publisher promotes its own content, and a news page index can exempt registered news publishers from one authorization process. As a monetizer, a publisher with an app shows other advertisers’ ads through Audience Network. This page sets out what Meta’s separate pages say about each, as checked on 2 Oct 2026.

What can a news publisher skip when it advertises?

Meta says any Facebook Page that primarily creates journalism should register in the news page index. Members may be eligible for news messages in Messenger, the context button, the WhatsApp Business Platform, and an exemption from the authorization and disclaimer process for ads about social issues, elections or politics.

The exemption has conditions:

No history of sharing misinformation.
A minimum amount of referral traffic from Facebook, or membership of a news industry organization Meta has identified.
Ads whose primary purpose is reporting news, current events and timely information.

The limits matter as much. Meta says opinion-based ads on those topics must still be authorized and carry a “paid for by” disclaimer. State-controlled media, and registered US news pages with direct, meaningful ties to political entities, must also go through authorization, as must publishers in languages Meta names, such as Arabic, Romanian and Turkish. Meta’s voting policy page adds that ads about social issues, elections or politics are not allowed in the European Union.

What you can do: register a news Page that fits. Advice, not a Meta rule: keep opinion and news promotion in separate campaigns.

How does an app publisher start on Audience Network?

Meta’s guide lists what you need:

An Android or iOS app that will be on Google Play or the App Store.
A personal Facebook profile to confirm your identity in Meta Business Suite.
An account with a mediation platform. Meta names AppLovin, Google AdMob, Google Ad Manager and Unity ironSource.
Access to the app’s code, to integrate the SDK, and the payout account details.

You then add the app in Monetization Manager and choose placements. Remaining tasks can include two-factor authentication, payout information, verifying the app and adding tax information, in any order. Meta says a combination of automatic and human reviews checks that publishers comply with its policies, and that publishers go through a few steps before they see ad delivery.

Meta’s overview says apps that have worked with Audience Network for some time need to move from waterfall to bidding. Its move guide starts in Monetization Manager, under Bidding setup.

Which ad formats can an app show?

Meta supports native, banner, interstitial and rewarded video. Rewarded video is for gaming apps, and the reward is for complete views, not clicks or installs. Interstitials are full-screen video ads. Meta says autoplay interstitials can by default be skipped after 5 seconds, with a maximum length of 2 minutes. Playable ads are available inside interstitial and rewarded video units.

How does a publisher get paid?

Meta says an admin of the financial entity who is also a property manager of the app adds payout details, such as bank information and a tax ID, in Monetization Manager. The rules:

Payout is on approximately the 21st of each month, for the previous month’s balance.
Revenue from all apps linked to one payout account is paid together.
Minimums are US $5 for the United States, $25 for international PayPal or local bank transfer, and $100 for international wire transfer. Smaller balances carry over.
You send no invoice. Meta pays in US dollars, so some banks need an intermediary account.
Changing payout details in the last 5 days puts a 5-day hold on the account, which can delay a payout by a month.

What do advertisers see about the publishers that carry their ads?

Meta’s partner-publisher lists show publishers that signed up for monetization and follow its partner monetization policies. They are updated daily and split by placement type. For Audience Network, an entry shows the publisher’s name, its category, whether it recently showed each display format, and the app’s minimum age rating. Meta also says ads can in some cases appear on nonpartner publishers’ content.

What you can do: keep your store category and age rating accurate, since advertisers can read them.

Which objectives do Audience Network video ads support?

Meta’s advertiser video specification lists awareness, engagement, leads, traffic, app promotion and sales as objectives for Audience Network native, interstitial and rewarded video.

FAQ

Does every news publisher ad skip authorization?

No. Meta’s exemption covers registered news publishers who meet its criteria, for ads whose primary purpose is reporting news. Ads with opinion-based content about social issues, elections or politics still need authorization and a “paid for by” disclaimer. State-controlled media are not exempt.

When does Audience Network pay a publisher?

Meta says it pays on approximately the 21st of each month for the previous month’s balance. International payouts can take several days longer, and earnings below the minimum for your payout method carry over.

Can people skip Audience Network video ads?

Meta’s pages differ. The publisher page says autoplay interstitials can by default be skipped after 5 seconds. The advertiser spec says native and interstitial video can be skipped at 3 or 6 seconds, depending on the publisher, and rewarded video can’t be skipped.