Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Google let Daily Wire advertise on 'climate change is a hoax' searches
(snip)
Google sold these ads even after announcing a new policy in October 2021 prohibiting ads that promote climate crisis denial. Its CEO, Sundar Pichai, publicly stated at the time that when people come to Google Search with questions about climate change, well show authoritative information from sources like the United Nations.
(snip)
Based on these estimates, researchers say that the Daily Wire could have spent almost as much as $60m on more than 150 Google search term ads over the past two years on various topics. These search term ads also included such phrases as argument against reparations, bill gates population control, and why does george soros hate america. More than a dozen of the search terms were climate-related, including:
(snip)
The center focused on the Daily Wire because it is among the most popular publishers on Facebook, with levels of engagement that at times have surpassed the combined digital reach of the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News and CNN.
In November 2021, the Center for Countering Digital Hate named the Daily Wire in a report as one of the top ten spreaders of climate disinformation on Facebook, along with other far-right outlets such as Breitbart, Newsmax and the Western Journal. Shapiros outlet, which reported more than $100m in revenue in 2021, was started with $4.7m in seed funding from Texas fracking billionaire Farris Wilks.
(snip)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/27/daily-wire-google-ads-climate-crisis-deniers
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 827 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (3)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Google let Daily Wire advertise on 'climate change is a hoax' searches (Original Post)
Uncle Joe
Jan 2023
OP
genxlib
(5,506 posts)1. It's the age old "chicken and egg" question
Are they idiots because they read Daily Wire
or
Are they idiots so they read the Daily Wire.
This article would indicate the latter but the jury is still out.
Either way makes them idiots.
Uncle Joe
(58,107 posts)2. They don't have to read it
(snip)
But on Google you dont need to be factually correct in order to shape peoples opinions, the disinformation group pointed out. Ninety-nine percent of Google clicks go to results on the first page, Ahmed said. If you can be the first result on a Google search, you essentially get to set the truth.
The Daily Wires climate ads are particularly egregious according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate because Google publicly presents itself as having one of the most aggressive sustainability plans of any large tech company.
It promises to achieve the goal of net-zero carbon emissions in its operations by 2030, ten years earlier than Amazon. Last year, the company teamed up with the United Nations to provide people with short and easy-to-understand information panels and visuals on the causes and effects of climate change when they search for the topic on Google.
Yet in a report last year the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that major climate polluters like BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell were purchasing ads on Google searches such as net-zero and eco-friendly, giving the impression that these companies were helping to fix the climate crisis instead of being the main contributors to it.
(snip)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/27/daily-wire-google-ads-climate-crisis-deniers