Google continues to break its own advertising policies.
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Thanks, Google: We’re still seeing major brands funding toxic sites after Adalytics’ exposé

Two weeks ago, a massive report from Adalytics exposed Google’s little-known practice of serving search ads on websites featuring everything from hardcore pornography to disinformation. Brands (and Google) scrambled to fix it.

But we know how long it takes Google to clean up its messes, so we dug deeper into the issue.

Bad news for brands: It’s still happening — despite Google’s VP of global ads, Dan Taylor, calling the issue “wildly exaggerated.”

We’ve found that over a week after the Adalytics report was published, major brands, including Procter & Gamble’s Charlie Banana, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Amnesty International are all unintentionally running ads on brand unsafe websites, including Breitbart.

Those websites feature adult content, host disinformation, or are run out of Iran, almost certainly putting them under US sanctions.

Yeah, we know. It’s bad. Read our full report here.
Ads for Greenpeace appearing on Breitbart

Disinformation scholar Joan Donovan says Harvard pushed her out to make Meta happy

Billionaires shouldn’t be able to buy institutional silence, but it looks like Meta may have tried to. In a whistleblower complaint, Dr. Joan Donovan, who is also on our board, says Harvard forced her out to appease Meta.

Why? Because the school was set to receive $500 million from Mark Zuckerberg’s charity, and her work as a scholar there that showed how Facebook harms society “was making trouble for the donors,” she told CNN.

We unequivocally support Dr. Donovan, and encourage all those who work for transparency and accountability to do the same.

Global brands are funding the spread of pro-Kremlin propaganda, a new report says

Coca-Cola, Google, Procter & Gamble, and other major international brands are sending millions of dollars in ads to outlets that push disinformation, according to the Balkans Free Media Initiative (BFMI) and the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability.

The report details how advertiser dollars went to spreading:

  • Kremlin narratives tied to the Ukraine invasion
  • Government propaganda
  • Attacks on the media and political opposition
  • Pieces that work to undermine democratic values

The good news: The BFMI applied our playbook and got two companies — Bosch and Lidl — to drop a major Russian disinformation site pushing anti-democratic sentiment in Europe.

We're proud to have supported this important report and will keep demanding transparency so advertisers can make decisions about who they're funding for themselves.

The past week was a good reminder that what we do can reverberate around the world — and that the people with power are paying attention. 

Hugs,

Nandini & Claire
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