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Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

atomic14.com

281–290 of 428 posts

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#281

Here's another one for you. If you search for any popular book on Google Play Books, you get a whole bunch of fake knock-offs alongside the real book. Sometimes, it is nearly impossible to tell which one is real. And they, apparently, won't do anything about it. A couple months ago I went searching for the book "Regime Change" by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, an NYT bestseller. The top search result at the time…

> "Abort the author" Shame that was untrue. > What I don't get is why haven't they shut it down Likely just because it's profitable enough. If nothing else, that seems to be the #1 guiding principle.

Doh, too late to edit the typo.

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#284

I don't think it is fair to pin this on Google - I get the worst ads on X. But something about how the X ad network works means that even when I report the ad, block the ad poster, etc. there is this army of alternate ad accounts that all show the same ad. I was feeling very guilty last night as I was watching YouTube and getting 30s+ unskippable ad blocks every 10 minutes in some video. And the repetition and low qu…

I think it is fair to pin this on Google, Meta, X, and any other ad networks that seem to have no control over their own platforms. They're like Dr. Frankenstein, creating a monster and then just letting it roam the countryside. But worse, because they profit (immensely) from the chaos their monster wreaks.

Pin it on Google, Meta, X, etc, and also on the sites that display malware ads to clients. They're all culpable.

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#285

I have two guesses why Google does this: 1) Google wants the most money, so they don't care to let dodgy ads thru. 2) There are more ads going out then can be reviewed, so they would rather have people report them, then they automatically reject the report until enough people report it, then an actual person may review it. As to why Google doesn't use AI to review them? Google would rather use the AI in a way that ma…

I don’t think they want the most money. If they did, they’d have done this long ago. The trend we’re seeing is about them just struggling to meet their quarter over quarter and year over year numbers. It’s a short term driven change to strategy, they’re trying to fill the hole with something else (we all know what) before admitting it exists. If they said their golden goose was dying, the stock would crash.

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#286

Extension to Hanlon's: never attribute to stupidity what can be attributed to apathy and greed.

This. When it's a person the original quote applies. But big companies have millions of data points on everything and are competent in areas they care about like their own profit. So you can assume it's not ignorance. They don't care if a publisher has to spend loads of time resolving issues rogue ads and malvertising because it doesn't affect them and the end user just blames the publisher.

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“AdSense has got to go” should include OP’s use if they truly believe that. That’s what the person you’re responding to is saying.

"Had to go". Past tense. It's not ambiguous. The only correct interpretation of that sentence is they did get rid of it.

[deleted]

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do wonder if the more they goose their ad business the faster it eventually falls. I know I am more and more reluctant to view many normal Web page ads at all and usually immediately click away the second a site gets annoying

I block ads because I don’t want my family exposed to scams, clickbait, and offensive content. If ads weren’t so annoying, I wouldn’t put too much effort into blocking them.

Also: Creepy surveillance, and a delivery mechanism for malware/viruses.

Online advertising has completely broken from anything resembling the traditional social-contract of magazine ads, billboard, signs, etc. They're preying on your safety and privacy, not just your attention.

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#290
Google itself serves similar ads for its own services in all its properties. I've been “critically low” on google storage space for several years now, and every google app prompts and notifies and nags about it on every launch.
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