It turns out that Google's advertising business is the source of funds for the site that spills false information
Google has taken a stance to fight disinformation from time to time, but in reality, it has monetized the system that spreads disinformation, according to a survey by ProPublica, a non-profit news organization in the United States. did.
How Google's Ad Business Funds Disinformation — ProPublica
For the study , ProPublica used data provided by fact-checking agencies, researchers, and website watchdogs to find that thousands of websites were published in multiple languages, including French, German, and Spanish. We scanned over 13,000 articles and analyzed whether they got ad revenue from Google. It was the largest survey of its kind ever conducted in a language other than English.
As a result, it turned out that Google posted ads in 41% of the approximately 800 articles evaluated by fact-checking agencies as ``posting false claims about the new coronavirus infection.'' . Also, 20% of sites disseminating disinformation about climate change contained Google ads.
One of the specific examples is below. In an article on a site called ATV, which disseminated false information that Serbia will start using a drug to treat the new coronavirus infection, through Google, the American apparel brand GUESS , the luxury department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue, and the major e-commerce service Advertisements such as eBay were posted.
According to ProPublica, ATV published articles praising President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Milorad Dodik, a hardline nationalist politician who supports Russia's aggression in Ukraine, and that Dodik claims He has reported skepticism about the
A spokesperson for Saks Fifth Avenue, whose ads were placed on the ATV by Google, said, 'Posting ads on this site violates the brand safety guidelines we have established with our advertising partners. It is not the intention of ', and said that he will block ATV from the delivery of advertisements in the future. A spokesperson for eBay also explained, ``We did not intend to advertise on ATVs.''
Overall, 87% of sites distributing questionable information in Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 62% of individual articles had Google ads.
The survey also found 80% of 'sites containing false information or misleading claims' commonly shared on social media in Brazil, 44% of similar sites in Spain, and 90% of disinformation sites in Turkey. % find out that Google is running ads.
In addition, 33% of far-right German-speaking sites, including anti-immigrant sites, received advertising revenue from Google, and 66% of French-speaking disinformation sites in Africa, such as Guinea, Mali, and Ivory Coast, also Google ads. was being delivered.
A former Google executive, who spoke to ProPublica on the condition of anonymity, said the company's focus on reputation, regulatory scrutiny, and the impact on its own bottom line means it's safer in the English-speaking world. Although it is active in the efforts of , it is said that it has not put as much effort into the markets of other language areas as it does in the English-speaking world.
Regarding the results, ProPublica said, ``In this survey, Google consistently posted ads on sites that spread falsehoods about the new coronavirus infection and climate change in French-speaking, German-speaking, and Spanish-speaking countries. These ad revenues can bring a lot of money to the people and groups that run unreliable sites, and they are also a source of revenue for Google. I will,' he complained.
Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson told ProPublica, ``We have over 50 measures in place to combat fake news on our advertising platform, including policies targeting elections, COVID-19, and climate change. For example, we will remove ads from over 1.7 billion pages and 63,000 sites in 2021. But our work is far from done. As such, we will continue to invest in systems that can detect untrustworthy claims and protect our users around the world.'
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