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The Digital Citizens Alliance argues that YouTube needs to do more both to protect advertisers and to get offensive or illicit videos off the platform.(Photo: Ozan Kose, AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Political campaigns that are flooding the web with ads this primary season may face an unintended hazard: Their advertisement may pop up alongside a nefarious video or webpage, giving opponents a devastating snapshot.
An advocacy group called the Digital Citizens Alliance found ads from 2016 presidential contenders in early primary states appearing on two dozen undesirable YouTube videos, including ISIL-inspired content, demonstrations of how to steal<span style="color: Red;">*</span>credit card numbers and computer hacking tutorials.
Several of the ads appeared on Muslim prayer videos created by the outreach<span style="color: Red;">*</span>arm of the Islamic State extremist<span style="color: Red;">*</span>group.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The alliance<span style="color: Red;">*</span>even found a campaign ad next to an anti-Israel video posted by former Ku Klux Klan<span style="color: Red;">*</span>leader David Duke.
In a new report, the group warns "we have captured pictures of candidates smiling, working, looking earnest and interested in the lives of regular citizens showing up next to videos pushing some of the activities that terrify millions of Americans."
Lucas Fowler, left, collects ballots from Adam Diamond, right, as Adam Diamond holds his son Oliver Diamond at a Democratic caucus site Tuesday, March 22, 2016, in Salt Lake City.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: John Locher, AP)
Adam Benson, the group's deputy executive director, said Alliance researchers went to South<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Carolina, New Hampshire and Virginia ahead of the primaries in those states and searched for videos with undesirable content. "It was not hard for us to start having these ads pop up."
Researcher Dan Palumbo said he saw his first presidential campaign ad "within minutes of typing in a search" for troubling YouTube videos. Since the ads are specific<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to time and location, visitors viewing those videos now will not see the same ads.
The Alliance argues that YouTube needs to do more both to protect advertisers and to get offensive or illicit videos off the platform, particularly having more humans reviewing and tagging content instead of relying on algorithms.
“"That could be extremely embarrassing if a screen grab of those things goes public."”
Grace Briscoe, Centro digital ad tech firm
YouTube says it has systems in place to both block illicit online video and to prevent ads from appearing next to inappropriate content.
“YouTube has clear<span style="color: Red;">*</span>policies<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that outline what content is acceptable to post, and we prohibit content related to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>dangerous or illegal activities<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>terrorism," said spokesman<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Andrew Swartz. "YouTube's teams review videos that are flagged around the clock, and work quickly to remove material that violates our policies. We also have stringent advertising guidelines, and work to prevent ads appearing against any video, channel or page once we determine that the content is not appropriate for our advertising partners.”
Still, digital advertising experts say this is the kind of thing that can cause nightmares for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a presidential campaign.
"It is absolutely<span style="color: Red;">*</span>top of mind for anybody who works in this<span style="color: Red;">*</span>space in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>advertising and digital, said Grace Briscoe, a vice president of candidates and causes at Centro, a digital ad technology firm. "That could be extremely embarrassing if a screen grab of those things goes public."
In this 2008 file photo, Republican presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters at a campaign rally on primary day in Grand Rapids, Mich.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: LM Otero, AP)
That's not a hypothetical; it happens pretty regularly. For instance, in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the 2008 presidential<span style="color: Red;">*</span>campaign, Mitt Romney<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mormon who opposed same-sex marriage —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>accidentally advertised<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on a gay dating site.
Briscoe said this danger increases when campaigns are buying ad space indiscriminately, "trying to go after too much fast/cheap/easy" exposure.
All advertisers try to target their ads to users in specific categories or who have shown interest in their product or issue. This is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>why that pair of jeans you looked at on Amazon.com but did not buy continues to follow you around every time you turn on your computer.
USA TODAY
Mississippi woman pleads guilty in Islamic State case
But for political campaigns, particularly during a heated campaign, there may be an incentive to cast their message as broadly as possible.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>For example, a campaign may pay to have their ads targeted to a user's Internet address, without distinguishing what content that user is looking at.
Briscoe said her company maintains its own list of sites where advertising is both effective and safe. "We spend a lot of time and invest a lot of money in making sure that we do have the controls in place for this."
Peter Pasi, vice president of political sales<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at Collective, a "multiscreen" advertising company, said, "When you deal with machines, you can't<span style="color: Red;">*</span>tell them 'I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>don't<span style="color: Red;">*</span>want something<span style="color: Red;">*</span>objectionable' because the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>machine doesn't<span style="color: Red;">*</span>t know what 'objectionable' is." The danger to campaigns is when they begin buying ad impressions in bulk, without specifying their targets, he said. "If you say 'give me one of everything,' you are going to get one of everything," even things you want no part of.
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