Check My Ads applauds the United Nations’ recently unveiled Global Principles for Information Integrity, which took into account the expertise of Check My Ads, the Conscious Ad Network, Stop Funding Hate, and other digital advertising watchdog organizations. The UN’s Global Principles for Information Integrity aim to address the harm caused by the spread of online hate and misinformation fueled by the monetization of such content.
“Check My Ads welcomes these principles and their focus on making digital advertising a safer business model that turns down the volume on hate speech, harassment, and harmful disinformation. We want to encourage regulators to adopt these guidelines to reduce the monetary motivations that allow hate and disinformation to thrive,” says Sarah Kay Wiley, Director of policy at Check My Ads.
The principles highlighted in the UN’s statement directly underline and follow the framework of Check My Ads’ and other partner’s present work in the area of digital advertising:
- Issuing an urgent appeal to government, tech companies, advertisers and the PR industry to step up and take responsibility for the spread and monetization of content that results in harm.
- For tech companies to scope business models that do not rely on programmatic advertising and do not prioritize engagement above human rights, privacy, and safety.
- And that ad tech intermediaries and the tech sector provide transparency for advertisers to help ensure that ad budgets do not inadvertently fund disinformation, hate, or undermine human rights.
Richard Wilson of Stop Funding Hate says, “We are proud to be part of the growing global movement that got this message onto the UN’s agenda. It’s time for big brands to put their money where their mouth is, end the “hate for profit” business model, and dismantle the disinformation economy.“