Facebook Moves to Block Ads on Fake News, Offensive Videos
- Advertisers will know what content they’re being paired with
- Action responds to increasing concerns about brand-safety
An attendee waits in line to try out new virtual reality (VR) applications during the F8 Developer Conference in San Jose, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. During his keynote, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his strategy for augmented reality, saying the social network will use smartphone cameras to overlay virtual items on the real world rather than waiting for AR glasses to be technically possible.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergFacebook Inc. is adding new standards that will keep advertising off fake news videos and objectionable content, moves that have become essential as the company starts to put ads inside videos and articles, instead of separately on the news feed.
Carolyn Everson, the company’s vice president of marketing solutions, said the moves are in reaction to advertiser fears about being paired with content that wouldn’t reflect well on their brands. Facebook’s 5 million advertisers are increasingly sensitive to their product pitches showing up next to offensive content after a controversy at Google’s YouTube earlier this year. Facebook wants to avoid that so-called brand safety problem.