Scandal surge cements brand safety as the top advertising concern for marketers

This is compounded by an 800% increase in ad fraud on mobile devices as the sector continues to outperform other forms of advertising.

Wayne Gattinella, chief executive of DoubleVerify said: "With the stakes higher than ever, it's critical that digital marketers around the world have a holistic approach to brand safety, digital ad fraud and viewability. Advertisers are demanding clarity and confidence in the quality of the online platforms and content with which their brands are associated."

In all the 2018 Global Insights Report identifies four key trends for digital marketers to be aware of, namely: media quality; fake news - including adult content, violence and hate speech; mobile ad fraud and ad viewability which at up to 63% still lags behind an industry target of 70%.

In recent months YouTube and Facebook have found themselves at the epicentre of brand safety scares with neither able to fully convince advertisers that they have a handle on the issue.

Earlier this year, Iotech launched its own Ethical Adtech whitepaper which aimed to bring more transparent practices into the digital advertising ecosystem.