Google blocks ZeroHedge from ad platform, warns The Federalist over comment sections
ZeroHedge comment section consistently violated Google's dangerous and derogatory policy, tech giant says
Google blocked right-leaning financial blog ZeroHedge from its advertising platform and warned online magazine The Federalist over their respective comment sections.
The tech giant confirmed the ZeroHedge ad ban on Tuesday to FOX Business, but the company pushed back on an NBC News report, which later clarified that The Federalist was not part of the ban.
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Google said it demonetized ZeroHedge after the company's review teams found that statements posted in the website's comment section consistently violated Google's dangerous and derogatory policy.
Google tweeted Tuesday that it had "worked with" The Federalist "to address issues on their site related to the comments section."
"As the comment section has now been removed, we consider this matter resolved and no action will be taken," the company said.
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In an interview on FOX Business' "The Evening Edit" with Liz MacDonald, Christopher Bedford, The Federalist senior editor, responded to the Google decision.
"What I can say for certain is that NBC News changed their story and Google was very, very quick to shut it down. The question is whether or not Google is actually on the side of truth in this the matter or whether Google is just in retreat after a very clumsy attack."
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Federalist co-founder Sean Davis separately appeared with Tucker Carlson on Fox News Channel to discuss the company's response to Google.
"Since we have temporarily removed our comment sections, and I can assure you they will be back, we are back in Google's good graces but this is a pretty terrifying example of the power that you have of the unholy union of corrupt media and monopolistic tech oligarchs," Davis warned.
NBC appeared to have connected Google's ban to research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a U.K.-based think-tank, which reportedly found 10 U.S. publications projected to make millions through Google Ads that have published content the Center labeled as racist in light of George Floyd's killing and the protests that have followed. Those publications allegedly included The Federalist and ZeroHedge.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate did not respond to a request for comment.
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Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, told NBC that his research organization found that "lots" of companies are "inadvertently funding" the 10 publications the Center identified as publishing "content that is outright racist in defense of white supremacism and contains conspiracy theories about George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement." Neither Ahmed nor NBC specified the names of the other eight outlets included in the Center's research.
Google added that it notifies all of its ad partners when they have violated the company's policies, adding that The Federalist was just notified, although Davis disputed some of those facts. Publishers have several days to amend policy violations if they wish to continue publishing content using Google Ads, the tech giant said.
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Google has banned a number of publications and websites from posting ads to the platform if they violate Google's policies.
ZeroHedge did not respond to inquiries from FOX Business.