NEW: Google is making millions of dollars from websites spreading misinformation about the Presidential Election.

It’s time for @Google to stop profiting from and funding dangerous lies.

Here’s what we found

#no2misinfo

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From a sample of six misinformation sites, we found ads for huge brands like:

@Kia @PUMA @thenorthface @YamahaMotorUSA @Georgetown @FIU @kingstontech @AllSaintsLive @ASUSUSA @harrys

all appearing next to false content about the election.

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The Google-funded websites falsely claim:

Mail-in ballots are being used to steal the election
Pandemics are “manipulated crises” to influence elections
There will be a planned "civil war" on election day
There is collusion to rig the result

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Brands pay to have their ads featured across Google’s advertising networks, but don’t know where Google places them.

Every time an ad appears on a website, Google and the website both profit.

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Google's own policies state that they do not place adverts on websites which make claims that are:

“demonstrably false and could significantly undermine participation or trust in an electoral or democratic process”.

@SundarPichai, why are you not enforcing this policy?

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Just 6 sites we found promoting misinformation about the election were viewed 40 million times last month.

Using Google’s own revenue calculator, we estimate that the misinformation sites make $3.4M a year from Google Ads, while Google also makes millions itself.

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Join us in calling on @Google CEO @sundarpichai to put people before profit and stop funding misinformation that threatens the health of democracy.

Sign: https://www.counterhate.co.uk/no2misinfo 

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For more information, see our @SFFakeNews campaign, calling on brands to stop funding election misinformation by adding these sites to their advertising blocklist.

https://twitter.com/SFFakeNews/status/1321080523662495746

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