Last year, Google-owned YouTube announced that it will prohibit all anti-vaccination content on its platform except for COVID-19-related information. This time – Google is targeting climate change misformation.
In an attempt to debunk myths about climate change and discourage the denial of the phenomenon, Google recently stated that it is censoring information on its network that undermines well-established scientific data, effectively shutting out climate naysayers.
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After media buyers and content producers voiced reservations about ad misplacement, the tech giant revised its advertising policy to ban misinformation about climate change.
According to a company blog post, Google is targeting advertisers and publishing partners in Google-served ads who attempt to encourage climate change misinformation on pages and videos. It is also focusing on YouTube Partner Program creators attempting to monetize their climate change misinformation videos.
The blog post read –
“We’re 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”
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Google’s new regulation specifically targets statements that claim climate change to be a “hoax or scam.” Furthermore, any claims that contradict long-term environmental patterns, and those that disregard crucial factors in climate change, such as greenhouse gas emissions or human activity causing climate change, are all targeted by the revised policy.
On climate-related issues, such as educated discussions on climate change and reliable research, Google will continue to allow advertisements and monetization.
Google made an official statement saying –
“We’ll look carefully at the context in which claims are made, differentiating between content that states a false claim as fact, versus content that reports on or discusses that claim”
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