Google receives over 40 million euros from the Israeli government to distribute advertisements on YouTube and other platforms that deny the officially declared famine in Gaza, despite their own terms actually prohibiting such actions.
The Israeli government has allocated 42.8 million euros for an advertising campaign aimed at questioning the officially declared famine it has caused in Gaza, as part of the also officially declared genocide. This is revealed by an investigation from Eurovision News Spotlight, in which VRT collaborated along with news media from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
The budget comes from the Israeli Government Advertising Agency (IGAA) and goes mainly to Google. 38.5 million euros is allocated for the distribution of videos on YouTube and campaigns through the company’s other advertising channels. Elon Musk’s X is also included in the contract. His platform will receive 2.56 million euros. The remaining 1.73 million euros go to smaller platforms.
Denial of Famine
Google is thus the largest recipient of the funds intended for a large-scale advertising campaign that started on June 17 this year and runs until December 31.
In exchange for the advertising budget, Google distributes videos on YouTube with out-of-context images of food in Gaza, among other things. These images are accompanied by the statement that there is food in Gaza, and that other claims are lies. European and American YouTube users see these videos as advertisements before the videos they actually want to watch.
The videos are intentionally misleading: although food is indeed available here and there in Gaza, the availability of food is so low that more than one-third of the population is severely malnourished and people die daily from lack of food.
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Other forms of advertisements can be found in Google search results, where a search for the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC – the body responsible for officially declaring famine) showed a sponsored result from the Israeli government at the top, questioning the neutrality of the IPC.
In Conflict with Own Terms
In its advertising policy, Google reserves the right to refuse advertisements that may cause harm to third parties. (Google and its affiliates may, acting reasonably, reject or remove a Target, Ad, or Destination at any time:… (iv) where Google reasonably believes that the relevant Ad, Target or Destination may cause harm to a user, third party, ….)
Furthermore, Google theoretically prohibits advertisements that mislead users or spread misleading information.Ads … that deceive users by … providing misleading information about products, services, and businesses can compromise user trust in the Google Ads platform. The Misrepresentation policy strives to ensure that ads are clear, honest, and provide information that users need to make informed decisions. )
With the ongoing contract, Google is enriching itself with funds from the Israeli government with the specific aim of turning public opinion in the West against the official information and facts surrounding the genocide and famine in Gaza.
Through its own policy, Google has the tools to refuse Israeli propaganda, but still chooses to distribute it in the US and Europe and be compensated for it. We contacted Google for a response and will update this article should we receive one.