Google helps place ads on sites that publish Covid-19 conspiracies

Team Udayavani, Jun 2, 2020, 1:08 PM IST

Google has responded well to the pandemic by coming up with various initiatives to create awareness among the people. But, now google is facing heavy criticism for placing advertisements on websites that publish conspiracy theories, helping their owners generate revenue and continue their operations.

It is said that Google accepted ad revenue from a company promoting a conspiracy theorist David Icke.

Earlier, YouTube removed the account of David Icke, a British provocateur who said that 5G makes people sick and sends out signals that can control their emotions. Icke had posted on YouTube for more than 14 years.

Google has avoided making blanket policies about which publishers can run its ads. Instead, it removes ads only from the specific pages carrying content that violates its content policies. It also allows advertisers to blacklist specific sites.

However, Christa Muldoon, a Google spokesperson, said, “We are deeply committed to elevating quality content across Google products and that includes protecting our users from medical misinformation. Any time we find publishers that violate our policies, we take immediate action”