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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Dave Burke

Google bans eight Tory election adverts as disinformation criticism mounts

Rulebreaking Tories have had eight adverts banned by Google in just a month, it has emerged.

Stats released by the search giant reveal the party put up six of the offending ads - which violate Google's advertising policies - on the day Labour's manifesto was released.

It comes as Conservatives face a wave of criticism over their use of disinformation during a shameful campaign.

The Tories have already been called out for setting up a fake website claiming to show the opposition policies , and for impersonating an independent fact-checking service on Twitter.

The BBC has also complained about an 'unacceptable' Facebook advert which 'distorts' the news.

The social network has since taken the advert down.

The Conservatives have been widely criticised for their shameful election tactics (BBC)

But brazen Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has previously claimed the public "don't give a toss" about the party lying on social media.

Google transparency data reveals that the Tory adverts have been removed this month, while the Brexit Party had five banned in October.

Labour , the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have not fallen foul of Google advertising bosses in this period.

Google would not reveal the specific reasons for pulling the ads, stating only: "This ad violated Google's Advertising Policies".

The company's rules state that it will not allow adverts which deceive users or fake documents.

Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery has hit out at Tory tactics, claiming they are "relying on cynical and dishonest tactics".

He stated: “The fact that the Conservatives are resorting to fake news shows that they have no plans or desire to improve the lives of people in Britain.

Labour chairman Ian Lavery has hit out at the Conservatives (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

“While Labour is running the biggest, people-powered campaign for real change in a generation, the Tories are relying on cynical and dishonest tactics."

Mirror Online has contacted the Conservatives for a comment about the Google advert removals.

Since March, UK political parties have spent £358,800 on adverts on Google.

Last week the search giant announced it would be taking fresh action to prevent "demonstrably false claims" appearing in adverts.

Google Ads executive Scott Spencer wrote in a blog post: “No one can sensibly adjudicate every political claim, counterclaim, and insinuation.

“So we expect that the number of political ads on which we take action will be very limited – but we will continue to do so for clear violations.”

It comes after the BBC told Facebook that adverts featuring its presenters infringed on its intellectual property rights, after claiming they could "damage perceptions of our impartiality".

James Cleverly questioned about doctored video of Keir Starmer

"We have removed this content following a valid intellectual property claim from the rights holder, the BBC," a Facebook spokeswoman said.

"Whenever we receive valid IP claims against content on the platform, in advertising or elsewhere, we act in accordance with our policies and take action as required."

One of the adverts the BBC was concerned about included an edited clip of BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg saying "pointless delay to Brexit", followed by newsreader Huw Edwards stating "another Brexit delay".

It also used a caption, saying: "A hung parliament = gridlock. Stop the chaos. Vote Conservative."

Mr Edwards welcomed the move, tweeting: "Good. My thoughts on this kind of stunt are unprintable."

A spokesman for the Conservative Party said last week that it was "clear" the footage was "not edited in a manner that misleads or changes the reporting", adding that viewers can "judge for themselves".

Tories push fake news edited video of Labour's Keir Starmer

The move comes at a challenging time for Facebook, as the tech giant faces pressure to ban political adverts altogether in the midst of a general election.

Twitter has banned political advertising on its platform, while Google has said it will no longer allow voters to be targeted by advertisers based on their political affiliation.

Last month, the Conservatives edited a video of Labour's Sir Keir Starmer to make him appear unable to answer a question on Brexit.

In the minute-long video which was posted on the party's Twitter account, Sir Keir was questioned on ITV's Good Morning Britain by Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid over Labour's Brexit policy.

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