Google will block election ads across its platforms after the polls close on November 3, TheAxios reported.

Google informed its advertisers of the decision in an email stating that they will not be able to run ads "referencing candidates, the election, or its outcome, given that an unprecedented amount of votes will be counted after election day this year," as per the report.

This policy will apply to all of Google’s ad-serving platforms including Google ads and YouTube.

The policy is important to avoid misinformation related to election results and to avoid civil unrest. Facebook earlier this week announced a similar policy. Facebook will reject political ads claiming that a particular candidate has won the United States (US) Presidential Elections 2020 before the final results are tabulated, according to a report by Fast Company.

Winners have been projected by midnight in the past. However, in-mail voting will affect these projections as per the report.

This was an extension to the platform’s policies announced earlier this month by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“I'm also worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or even weeks to be finalised, there could be an increased risk of civil unrest across the country,” Zuckerberg had written in a post on September 3.

“Since the pandemic means that many of us will be voting by mail, and since some states may still be counting valid ballots after election day, many experts are predicting that we may not have a final result on election night. It's important that we prepare for this possibility in advance and understand that there could be a period of intense claims and counter-claims as the final results are counted,” he had said.

Related Topics