Google cracks down on climate change denial by targeting ads

Google cracks down on climate change denial by targeting ads

Subject – Governance

Context – Google is cracking down on digital ads promoting false climate change claims or being used to make money from such content, hoping to limit revenue for climate change deniers and stop the spread of misinformation on its platforms.

Concept –

• Google is cracking down on digital ads promoting false climate change claims or being used to make money from such content, hoping to limit revenue for climate change deniers and stop the spread of misinformation on its platforms.
• The company said Thursday in a blog post that the new policy will also apply to YouTube, which last week announced a sweeping crackdown of vaccine misinformation.
• The restrictions will prohibit ads for, and monetization of, content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change.
• Along with addressing publishers’ frustrations, the changes are also apparently intended to counter online influencers who monetize, or make money from, YouTube videos promoting climate change denial theories by putting ads on them.
• Limits will be placed on content calling climate change a hoax or denying that greenhouse gas emissions and human activity have contributed to the earth’s long-term warming, the company said.
• Google is one of the two dominant players in the global digital ad industry, earning $147 billion in ad revenue last year. Facebook, the other big player, prohibits ads used to spread misinformation though it doesn’t list specific topics including climate change denial.