Google, YouTube to Stop Serving Advertisements Next to Climate Change Misinformation

Google will prohibit platforms from helping people make money from content that "contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence of climate change."

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 8 October 2021 10:05 IST

Google, YouTube to Stop Serving Advertisements Next to Climate Change Misinformation

Google's decision to demonetise climate misinformation could turn the tide on the climate denial economy

Highlights

Online content referring to climate change as hoax or scam are included
Facebook touts efforts to curb climate misinformation at its platform
Social media platforms are regularly accused of promoting content

Google on Thursday said it will no longer post advertisements next to misinformation about climate change on its search engine or on global video-sharing platform YouTube. The new policy for Google advertisers, publishers, and YouTube creators will prohibit the platforms from helping people make money from content that "contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change."

That includes online content referring to climate change as a hoax or a scam, or denying the world's temperature is rising and that human activity is contributing to the problem, Google said in a post.

"Advertisers simply don't want their advertisements to appear next to this content," Google said.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

"And publishers and creators don't want advertisements promoting these claims to appear on their pages or videos."

The Internet giant added that the policy change aligns with efforts by the company to promote sustainable practices and confront climate change.

"Google's important decision to demonetise climate misinformation could turn the tide on the climate denial economy," said NGO Avaaz campaign director Fadi Quran.

What Is Doomscrolling, and Who’s to Blame for It?

"For years, climate misinformers have confused public opinion and obstructed urgent political action on climate change, and YouTube has been one of their weapons of choice."

Quran urged other online platforms to follow Google's lead and stop funneling money to those peddling debunked denials of climate change.

Social networking colossus Facebook, which is Google's biggest competitor in the digital advertising market, touts efforts to curb climate misinformation at its platform but has no such advertisement ban in place.

Social media platforms are regularly accused of promoting content that provokes strong emotional responses in order to keep users engaged so the platforms can make more money made from advertisements, even if the content can cause harm.

Amazon's month-long sale, the Great Indian Festival, is back. This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, Amazon India's consumer electronics head Akshay Ahuja takes us behind the scenes. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.