It has been revealed that dozens of the biggest brands in the world, such as Nike, Amazon and Ted Baker, have advertised on websites that promote conspiracy theories and misinformation about Covid-19. These companies and an NHS service are just a few of the many household names that appear to have funded websites that make outrageous claims about powerful people or vaccines that have killed thousands.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism analysed nearly 60 sites and shared it with the Observer. It found that advertisements were placed through the opaque market for digital advertising, which is expected to be worth more $455bn (387bn this year).
Digital advertising is provided by a complex network of tech companies including Google that matches online data about individuals with available advertising space, and then sells access to web users as they browse.
Experts believe that the digital advertising architecture may have meant that large brands and their customers could have unwittingly funded Covid-19 misinformation.
Dr Augustine Fou is an independent researcher on ad fraud and a former employee at Omnicom. She said that the bidding system for ads allows these sites to be mixed in with more benign sites.
He said that they are now able to not only survive, but also grow because they have access to funding. This is why we are seeing such a huge problem. Companies and organizations that buy the ads may not be aware that they are appearing on or funding misinformation sources.
More than 30 websites featured Amazon ads. These sites carried fake news, from conspiracy theories about Bill Gates and Covid to allegations that mRNA vaccines can be toxic.
A website for diabetes was created by NHS alongside articles from a well-known antivaccine activist. The false claim that you can't catch a disease is also promoted.
Raegan MacDonald, Mozilla's internet browser creator, said that we know that the ad industry is extremely opaque. It's almost as if we are not supposed to look underneath the hood. You will find this mess if you do.
Ads for Nike, Honda, US pharmacy chain Walgreens and eBay were among those recorded on misinformation-spreading sites Photograph: Acorn 1/Alamy
MacDonald warned that the system was being militarized and could pose a threat to public health. She said that she hoped this would be the last straw for brands.
The bureau investigated sites that hosted misinformation or carried ads. It used a combination manual checking by researchers from the US and UK, and automated systems that crawl sites to document what happens when someone visits them.
With the help of the Global Disinformation Index, the pages were identified using ad analysis by Rocky Moss (the co-founder and chief executive at Deepsee.io) and Braedon Vickers (who has created a search platform called Well Known).
Many companies that offer digital advertising are not well-known outside of the industry. Analyse by Moss using Deepsees crawlers that simulate a person browsing web pages, found ads delivered to Google for nearly 30 large brands. Each ad appeared on at least two misinformation websites.
Most common was for Amazon Pharmacy, an online drugstore that is owned by the company. This has made it a major player in digital marketing. The ads for Amazon Pharmacy, which isn't available in the UK by the crawlers, made up more than 1% and were found on over 30 misinformation websites.
Google did not address the issue of the ads that it displayed on the sites identified by the bureau. However, it stated it had taken appropriate actions against misinformation-related breaches, including cutting off the publishers' ability to make money on specific pages or entire websites following repeated breaches.
A spokesperson for Google told the bureau that protecting consumers and credible businesses on our platforms is a top priority.
The next most prominent advertisers after Amazon Pharmacy were computer manufacturer Lenovo (which appeared on 11 websites) and US bank Discover. Lenovo stated: Lenovo, like many other companies, uses Google AdSense to deliver digital ads to consumers on the internet. We provide clear guidelines to our media partners, agencies and other agencies regarding what type of digital advertising is acceptable for our brand. Lenovo does not approve of the placement ads on Covid-19 misinformation websites. We also do not condone the content that appears next to it. We will work with media partners to examine our current protection systems.
Ads for Nike, Honda, US pharmacy chain Walgreens and eBay were also among those recorded on multiple misinformation-spreading sites. Multiple sites also featured ads for British fashion brands Ted Baker and Asos as well as the auction house Sothebys.
Xyla Health & Wellbeing runs the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. It said that it had taken action to stop the messages from appearing on the websites.
Two sites promoted the US Department of Veterans Affairs. One incorrectly referred to mRNA vaccines, or genetic modification injections, and claimed that they increase the likelihood of people contracting Covid. Another site falsely claimed that coronavirus is not more dangerous than flu.
American Honda spokeswoman said that they are investigating how advertising from American Honda may have appeared on these websites. We will not support Covid misinformation and we won't allow our advertising to appear on such websites. Honda encourages all associates to get fully vaccinated. We have conducted free vaccination clinics at our facilities to make this possible.
Ted Baker spokesmen said that the Google Display Network is responsible for these ads' location. We are able to confirm that we worked with Google on this issue, and that our ads will not appear on these sites in the future.
Asos has added misinformation websites to its banned list. A spokesperson stated that Asos has added the misinformation sites to its banned list.
However, the available tools will not always flag smaller sites or those that are newer. We take immediate action when an issue is raised.
Other companies did not respond to our request for comment, or declined to comment.
Advertising experts suggested that companies need to be more vigilant about where their ads are appearing and not just assume ignorance.
Fou, an independent researcher on ad fraud, stated that companies who buy adverts online shouldn't trust agencies that purchase ad space and should instead conduct regular investigations.
Fou says that all these intermediaries are intermediaries. They make more from every dollar that flows through their platforms. They don't have any incentive to reduce brand safety concerns. They have every incentive to allow it through.
He stated that the internet ad market is so large that even a small fraction of total spending can be significant for the poor.
