YouTube ad misplacement sees Trump, Sanders and Clinton ads served next to Isis propaganda
Digital ads supporting US presidential candidates, including Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Hilary Clinton and Ted Cruz have been served next to Isis propaganda videos on YouTube, according to a report from to Internet safety group, the Digital Citizens Alliance.
The organisation spotted the banners rolling across and sitting alongside videos which the narrator claims have been produced by Al-Hayat Media Center (Isis' media arm) as well as others that contained extremist messaging.
While not part of the candidates' official promotions, the ads in question seem to have been created by groups campaigning for the 2016 hopefuls including the 'Feel the Bern Committee' and ' Hillary for America'.
The misplaced banner are appearing alongside the clips because the uploaders are members of YouTube's partnership scheme, which lets the Google-owned platform share the profits from ads with the video creators – meaning US political groups could be potentially be funding terrorist activity.
Ad misplacement has long been a headache for video hosts and publishers thanks to the automated nature of programmatic, but Google issued a statement looking to assuage marketers' concerns around the matter saying it's team "review videos that are flagged around the clock" and works quickly to remove material that violates its policies. Some of the videos have now been removed according to Business Insider.