Controversial Ads on YouTube Highlight Brand Safety Challenges
Recently, a troubling incident unfolded on YouTube when an advertisement for the car manufacturer Mazda played before a video that perpetuated a racist myth about Haitian migrants in Ohio, claiming they were “eating ducks on the side of the road.” This was not an isolated case; another ad from Adobe appeared alongside a different video that baselessly asserted that “people have had their pets abducted and eaten by individuals who shouldn’t be in this country.” In a surprising turn, even an advertisement for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, was featured before a video that irresponsibly echoed the unfounded claim that migrants were “going to parks, grabbing ducks, cutting their heads off and eating them.”
For years, advertisers have made concerted efforts to distance their brands from content that addresses divisive political issues, public health crises, hate speech, and misinformation. Their concerns largely stem from the potential damage to customer perceptions and the risk of public backlash. The fact that advertisements appeared on YouTube in conjunction with misleading narratives about Haitian migrants highlights the significant challenges that brands face in achieving safe advertising placements, especially in the context of a particularly contentious election year.
Just this month, a group of researchers unveiled findings indicating that advertisements for numerous large organizations and well-known consumer brands were inadvertently funding xenophobic claims that had been thoroughly debunked. This phenomenon saw advertising revenue flowing not only to YouTube but also to the creators of the inflammatory and racist content, as reported by Eko, an organization dedicated to corporate accountability.
The videos paired with these problematic ads collectively garnered nearly 1.6 million views on YouTube within a mere 72-hour window following a presidential debate on September 10, during which former President Donald J. Trump propagated falsehoods about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Eko estimated that the commentators involved likely earned thousands of dollars in total from the advertisements that accompanied their videos.
In conclusion, the presence of ads from reputable brands adjacent to such controversial content raises critical questions about the effectiveness of brand safety measures and the responsibility of platforms like YouTube in regulating the content that monetizes their services.
