After it was previously revealed that Google earned millions from spreading Israeli propaganda through its own advertising channels, the company now reports that it has removed several ads. The large international propaganda campaign appears to be paused for now.
Google has removed advertisements from the Israeli Government Advertising Agency for violating its internal advertising policy. A spokesperson informed ITdaily of this. According to Google’s Ads Transparency Center, there are currently no active advertisements from the Israeli propaganda service.
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The Israeli Government Advertising Agency had set up a large-scale advertising campaign scheduled to run from June 17 to December 31 of this year. Google was set to receive approximately 40 million euros for this campaign, primarily for distributing advertisements via YouTube.
Propaganda
The advertisements in question took the form of misleading propaganda. For instance, one video portrayed Israel as a humanitarian benefactor, claiming it was carrying out one of the world’s largest humanitarian campaigns in Gaza on its own initiative. Another video showed out-of-context footage of food in Gaza, claiming there was sufficient food and that all other information on the subject was false.
The claims in the advertisements were labeled as incorrect or misleading by independent media. For example, a famine in Gaza has been officially determined by the competent IPC, and what’s occurring in Gaza is not a large humanitarian action but a genocide, as confirmed by specialized scientists and an independent UN commission.
Advertising Terms Violated
The ongoing advertisements appeared to violate Google’s own terms. The company prohibits ads that mislead, as well as ads that can cause harm to third parties. The American internet giant even reserves the right to refuse advertisements around sensitive events.
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ITdaily asked Google for a response regarding the campaign, questioning whether the advertisements in question were in line with the terms. It has since become clear that this is (at least partially) not the case. Google has removed the (ongoing) advertisements that violate the policy.
However, the propaganda campaign was able to run unrestrained for several months. Germany, France, and the UK were particularly targeted. During the summer, videos glorifying Israeli actions in Gaza and questioning the famine were frequently shown. At the time of writing, there are no ongoing advertising campaigns from the Israeli Government Advertising Agency in these countries.