Google is going to start cracking down on COVID-19 related conspiracy theory ads to prevent the spread of misinformation.
The tech giant is going to ban ads that contradict “authoritative scientific consensus” about the pandemic. This new change means that sites can’t make money from ads that promote debunked conspiracy theories about the virus.
There have been several conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 that have gained traction online. For instance, some claim that the virus was created in a lab, while others believe it’s related to 5G.
Bloomberg reports that the new change will go into effect in August. Google says it is going to take action against sites that repeatedly violate the new policy and they may be banned from using Google ad platforms.
“We are putting additional safeguards in place by expanding our harmful health claims policies for both publishers and advertisers to include dangerous content about a health crisis that contradicts scientific consensus,” a spokesperson from the company told Bloomberg.
Google previously announced that it was investing $6.5 million USD (about $8.8 million CAD) to fight misinformation related to COVID-19.
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