This is the third time I’m seeing this type of political smear ad run via Google Ads, specifically through Google News on my phone’s “Google Now” screen. The ads are supposedly paid for by Indian companies with nondescript names like “Thiess India Private Limited”. The ad usually features an AI-generated image of a left-leaning politician appearing injured or in handcuffs. I’ve seen doctored images of Jagmeet Singh and Mark Carney so far. This particular ad pointed to a fake website setup to look identical to a CBC News article, with more misinformation. I’ve reported this to Google, CBC, and The Walrus.
Considering the fact that Google is labeling ICE officials as a vulnerable population, I wouldn’t count on them doing anything against this. Hell, they might be well aware of the fact, whatever pays ammarite?
I’d just move away from Google entirely at this point.
Yeah, I’ve reported these ads to them before. I doubt they’re actually investigating it further than removing an individual ad, if that. A few savvy people moving away from Google devices won’t really put a stop to it either.