Google YouTube will no longer allow ads on content pushing climate change denial saying it contradicts scientific consensus
Google and its subsidiary YouTube will no longer monetize content that goes against the âscientific consensusâ on global warming, removing all ads from posts with inaccurate claims in an effort to combat âclimate change denial.â
The Big Tech behemoth announced the move in a Thursday blog post, updating its policies on ads and monetization in order to âensure a brand-safe environmentâ for advertisers, and to âprotect usersâ from âunreliable claimsâ as well as âfake medical cures or anti-vaccine advocacy.â
âOur advertising and publisher partners ⦠have expressed concerns about ads that run alongside or promote inaccurate claims about climate change,â it said, noting that this is not only bad for business, but impacts content creators as well.
Thatâs why today, weâre announcing a new monetization policy for Google advertisers, publishers and YouTube creators that will prohibit ads for, and monetization of, content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change.
While the company did not offer a detailed definition of the proscribed content, it cited a few examples, including posts that deem climate change âa hoax or a scam,â as well as âclaims denying that long-term trends show the global climate is warming, and claims denying that greenhouse gas emissions or human activity contribute to climate change.â
Enforcement of the new policy will combine âautomated toolsâ as well as âhuman review,â Google added â" though YouTubeâs algorithmic decision-making system is not exactly known for its high degree of accuracy, resulting in numerous bans by âmistakeâ over the years.
Advertisements and monetization will still be allowed for other climate change-related content, including public policy debates and discussion of ânew researchâ (so long as researchers â" Ivy League-educated or otherwise â" donât question the prevailing âconsensusâ on any particular issue, that is).
Nonetheless, the company insisted that it would âlook carefullyâ for âcontextâ to distinguish between the actual dissemination of false claims and the mere discussion of those claims, such as attempts to rebut or debunk them.
Also on rt.com YouTube bans ALL anti-vax videos, ramping up Covid-era censorship campaignGoogle and YouTubeâs updated ad policies come after the latter platform declared it would ban all âharmful vaccine contentâ late last month. The move was part of a broader push against so-called âmisinformationâ that got underway after the 2016 US presidential election, rapidly escalating in the years since, with the 2020 presidential race, Covid-19 pandemic and January 6 Capitol riot all supercharging an internet-wide censorship campaign.
Tens of thousands of users across dozens of platforms have been banned en masse in recent years â" seeing periodic âpurgesâ over alleged disinfo, âconspiracy theoriesâ and âhate speechâ â" while content creators who veer outside the scope of establishment opinion increasingly face de-monetization and issues with advertisers.
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