The
world's largest search engine updated its policy as the health
crisis has continued to rage throughout the United States, and
digital advertising giants like Google and Facebook Inc have
faced calls to do more to clamp down on misinformation.
Content not allowed to make money from ads include debunked
conspiracy theories, such as the notion that the novel
coronavirus was created in a Chinese lab as a bioweapon, that it
was created by Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates, or that the
virus is a hoax, Google said in a statement.
Google already bars ads with harmful content like "miracle"
health cures or which promote the anti-vaccination movement. It
also prevents ads from running on publisher content that
encourages those topics.
Google's new policy will also bar advertisers from creating
their own ads that promote coronavirus conspiracy theories.
Google allows only certain institutions to run ads about the
coronavirus pandemic, including government organizations and
healthcare providers, to prevent activities like price-gouging
on medical supplies.
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