The Google advertising machine that feeds paid advertising spots to not only Google but other web servers appears to have hit a snag. On The Bilerico Project‘s web site, ads are showing up on California’s Proposition 8 asking viewers to support the protection of traditional marriage in California. Yes, that’s one of three propositions across the U.S. (in California, Arizona and Florida) focused on preventing marriage between two people of the same sex. Readers of Bil Browning’s fun and quirky web site, the Bilerico Project, wrote in to report this unusual and unexpected ad on his web site whose tagline is “daily experiments in LGBTQ”.
Bil investigated and reports that Google’s official position (I found it on ThinkProgress.org) from Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, is that the company opposes Proposition 8 in California. However, the company position is not consistent with their Advertising Policies. In Google’s Advertising Policies it states that any advertising that is focused against the LGBT community (and other minority groups) is not permitted. See the inconsistency?
So what’s Google up to?
It makes me wonder if the Google advertising machine is more focused on profiting from their advertising than upholding their policies. I love the way Bil points out in his blog, what if there was a ballot measure to rescind interracial marriage? What would Google do if an advertiser had an ad in support of segregation? Chilling thought! And how about those LGBT employees at Google? How could they be feeling about their California-based company? Where’s the trust? Where’s the integrity?
What do you think Google is up to?
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