'Big brotherish' Google cancels charity's campaigning ads
Howard Lake | 16 February 2004 | News
International environmental organisation Oceana says that search engine Google has refused to publish its paid-for advert to promote its “stop cruise pollution” campaign because it contained “language critical of the cruise industry”.
Search engine Google has for a few years been an essential tool in promoting a Web site, whether through its free listings or paid-for keyword-related text adverts. Charities have benefited from its free public service announcement spaces, and some have paid to ensure their text ads appear when certain words are searched for at the site.
Now it appears that Google will not accept certain charity adverts, particularly if they campaign against the activities of companies. Oceana bought two Google AdWords adverts, one of them a general advert to promote their main Web site, and another to help raise awareness of their ongoing campaign to stop cruise pollution. Two days after the ads started running, “Google shut them down”. Oceana say that Google explained the cancellation because the adverts linked to sites that contained “language critical of Royal Caribbean”, a cruise ship company, and “language critical of the cruise industry.” Needless to say, Oceana was not happy with this and criticised Google for its “misguided, Big Brotherish policy.”
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Oceana claims that it can’t find anything in the Google’s terms and conditions that could explain this rejection, except the catch-all clause in their Editorial Guidelines that entitles them to act to “Maintain Google Standards.” The non-profit concludes: “So what are you allowed and not allowed to say in a Google ad? What companies are you prohibited from criticizing? Who knows?”
Clearly non-profits and charities from time to time publicise messages that criticise companies and governments. Will Google no longer accept adverts promoting these campaigns? Are they doing so for reasons of editorial integrity, to protect themselves from accusations of libel, or because the companies criticised are likely to have a higher advertising spend than their non-profit critics? If this issue concerns you then you can support Oceana in its online campaign to ask Google to explain its policy.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.