We just published our biggest story of the year. Here's how your action
can take it further.
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Hey team,

WOW. Our recent BRANDED was a bombshell
<[link removed]>. We
reported on what is possibly the biggest story of the year: Google has
allegedly been running a multibillion-dollar scam through YouTube ads.
What happens next could help us defund some of the biggest
disinformation outlets in the world.

**In case you missed it, here's the deal:**

YouTube has been selling marketers on the idea that their ads will
appear on YouTube - and sometimes on a network of
"carefully-vetted"
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third-party websites and mobile apps called "Google Video Partners"
(GVP).

But new research from ad verification firm Adalytics found that most of
the ads - up to 90% of sampled ad budgets - are going to Google
Video Partners. And it turns out these sites aren't
"carefully vetted" either.

They include:

Breitbart(.)com and TheBlaze(.)com, white nationalist sites

Zerohedge(.)com, which amplifies conspiracy theories

RussiaToday(.)com and Pravda(.)ru, both sites that publish Russian
propaganda

Adalytics <[link removed]> also found that Google has been
charging premium YouTube rates for serving ads on sites like these and
other garbage websites, where they are muted and autoplaying, crammed
into the corner of the browser. Unskippable, unviewable, un-hearable
ads on the worst possible websites? That's not exactly the premium
YouTube experience.

We think advertisers are owed billions of dollars in refunds - and so
do they. The EU Parliament has learned through this report that their
ads ran on Russian state media, and they're livid. How much money have
they been sending to RUSSIA, a country they're currently at war with?

Now, a coalition of parliamentarians
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is now calling on the organization to pause its Google ad buy as they
investigate. Joshua Lowcock, Global Chief Media Officer at UM, has also
said he plans to look into refunds for their clients.

This is how things play out again and again: Advertisers don't fund
disinformation because they want to. It happens behind their backs,
against their will. We've seen that advertisers will do the right
thing when they have access to the information.

**This is why the fight against disinformation is also the fight for
transparency in the advertising industry.**

**Today's action:**

Adalytics, the organization behind the blockbuster Google study, is
currently looking for advertisers and media buyers to participate in a
follow-up study that will help strengthen the case against Google. If
you know anyone who runs YouTube ads at work, forward this email to
them.

Take the Survey
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You're the best!

Nandini and Claire

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Sent to: [email protected]

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