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Ad from the auto insurance company Geico appears alongside an antisemitic post from a Soros-focused group |
Facebook has been claiming that it is effectively addressing hate on its platforms. ADL and others, however, have continued to expose egregious examples of online hate, misinformation and extremism across the company’s products, particularly on Facebook and Instagram. Whether or not these posts technically violate Facebook’s complicated guidelines around hate speech, as a result of the platform’s casual placement of ads, paid advertisements run a risk of being placed next to divisive (and sometimes blatantly hateful) content. Indeed, even a cursory investigation conducted by ADL’s analysts immediately surfaced examples of prominent brands’ advertising displayed on newsfeeds next to hateful and conspiratorial content. Although we have not spoken to these companies, we can assume that their intentions when buying advertising on Facebook did not include being displayed alongside such content.
![3 Percenters Airbnb Ad](https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/facebook-ads-brands-hate-extremism-2020-3-percenters-syrup-650w%20copy.jpg)
Similarly, an advertisement for the fabric freshener Febreze, a brand of Proctor & Gamble, appears next to a link to a conspiracy video that claims that well-known Hollywood stars have exposed rampant cannibalism and pedophilia allegedly connected with other named actors and high profile individuals in Hollywood.
These are just a few examples of major brand ads placed next to misinformation, hateful messages, and extremist content on Facebook. These posts were quickly revealed by a brief search conducted by ADL analysts. Until Facebook adequately addresses problematic content on its platform, advertisers run the risk that their paid ads will appear next to hate, misinformation and conspiratorial content.
Source: ADL