It is pointed out that Google and Amazon are paying more than 2.5 billion yen in advertising expenses for 'sites that spread false information of new coronavirus'
It has been pointed out that a lot of hoaxes and misinformation are flying around on the Internet in connection with the epidemic of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The
Why is ad tech paying US$25 million to COVID-19 disinfo sites? – GDI
https://disinformationindex.org/2020/07/why-is-ad-tech-paying-us25-million-to-covid-19-disinfo-sites/
Google, Amazon Funnel Money to Virus Conspiracy Sites: Study-Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-08/google-amazon-funnel-over-20-million-to-virus-conspiracy-sites
The spread of misinformation and conspiracy theory based on the COVID-19 pandemic is a big problem. For example, in the United States and Europe, there is a hoax that a radio tower for 5G is the cause of a pandemic and an arson incident occurs on the radio tower, and vaccine opponents activate the movement by taking advantage of the pandemic. Some point out that they are doing so.
It is pointed out that the movement of vaccine opponents is becoming active due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus-GIGAZINE
So GDI investigated 480 ads on websites that strongly disseminate misinformation about COVID-19, including AmericanThinker.com, BigLeaguePolitics.com, TheGatewayPundit.com, and RT.com. As a result, it turned out that advertisements of many common companies such as consumer electronics manufacturers, cosmetics manufacturers, news media, etc. are displayed on these harmful websites.
For example, the image below shows a Canon ad on 'BigLeaguePolitics.com'. This ad was served through Google.
In this image, you can see that the cosmetics maker
Advertisers pay advertising fees to companies that offer advertisement distribution services, such as Google and Amazon, and outsource the placement of advertisements. Part of that cost goes to websites that spread harmful misinformation in the form described above.
According to a GDI survey, websites that disseminate misinformation about COVID-19 generate $25 million in advertising revenue. The top five advertising distribution companies that are sources of revenue are Google, OpenX, Amazon, Xandr, and Taboola, and it seems that Google has paid $ 19 million (about 2.60 billion yen) in particular.
GDI points out that by paying advertising revenue to websites that disseminate false information, the amount of advertising revenue that would otherwise be obtained by a reliable website will be reduced. Also, from the advertiser's point of view, when an advertisement is placed on a site that disseminates incorrect information, it gives a bad impression that 'there is an advertisement on such a site'. Therefore, GDI argues that ad distribution companies should also consider raising ads until they stop posting on false information dissemination sites.
A Google spokeswoman told Bloomberg when asked about the GDI survey, ``This report does not define what should be considered misinformation, and the disadvantage of ad revenue calculations is neither transparent nor realistic. Replies. However, 5 of the 10 misinformation dissemination sites shown in the GDI report stripped advertising revenue. A Google spokesman said, 'Google has a strict website operator policy to prevent monetization of harmful and fraudulent content,' and is proactive in the harmful misinformation of COVID-19. Insist that it corresponds to. Amazon did not respond to Bloomberg inquiries.
GDI co-founder Danny Rogers said, 'The company's public statement, 'Dedicated efforts to monetize hate speech and harmful content, especially pandemics,' is a reality. Does not match our data that tells us.' The ad delivery platform argued that further efforts should be taken to prevent the spread of false information.
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