Ginny Marvin says, “Google’s programmatic advertising network is coming under fire for supporting extremist sites and content at the expense of the brand safety of its advertisers.

On Thursday, The Guardian reported it has pulled its advertising from Google and YouTube, after learning its ads were appearing next to extremist content. It was not alone. The British government also found its ads running next to inappropriate content and has summoned Google to address the British Cabinet Office about the issue. British advertising trade group Ibsa has called on Google to address brand safety concerns on its programmatic exchanges.

A subsidiary of global marketing giant Havas said it pulled its UK ad spend with Google on Friday over brand safety concerns for its clients. The Guardian reported Havas UK was not satisfied with Google’s response, stating it was “unable to provide specific reassurances, policy and guarantees that their video or display content is classified either quickly enough or with the correct filters.” Update: Within hours, the Paris-based parent company reversed the decision, calling it “extreme”. Yannick Bolloré, Havas CEO said, “We will continue to negotiate with Google to find solutions”.

The Guardian says its ads were purchased through Google’s DoubleClick AdX, a programmatic ad exchange that encompasses millions of sites, to promote Guardian subscriptions”.

Havas, the Guardian, British govt. blacklist Google, YouTube for ‘unacceptable’ ad placements

Marketing Land

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