Google bans Conservative Party YouTube ad with distorted content

Search engine giant Google has removed a UK Conservative Party advertisement on YouTube which featured BBC news footage. The move follows a similar action by Facebook based on the infringement of Intellectual Property Rights.

On the other hand, BBC claims that its contents were rather distorted in the ad, saying that it was taken out of context and could damage its reputation for impartiality. The removal of the ad was confirmed by a Google spokesman on December 4. As per reports, the ad was already viewed over 1 Million times before it was pulled down. 

Read: Facebook Removes Conservative Party Ad With BBC Presenters

Contents of ad distorted

The ad was reportedly created with an expenditure of about €30,000 on its promotion. In the video, the news presenters were edited in a manner of agreeing with Conservative propaganda. And a video also called the delay to Brexit "pointless" but the full video made clear that the presenter had been quoting Boris Johnson. Surprisingly, the party finds nothing wrong with the ad. It denied the claims that it was edited in a way to distort fact of matters. 

Read: Boris Johnson's Conservative Party Uses Edited Footage To Push Brexit Agenda

Facebook, Google, Youtube remove campaign ads

British Election Campaign has been filled with ads based on election campaigning. Google had earlier deleted 8 other Tory ads claiming ban "the promotion of products or services that are designed to enable dishonest behavior". Facebook was the first to remove the ad on copyright grounds. In an official statement, it said, "We have removed this content following a valid intellectual property claim from the rights holder, the BBC" at the beginning of the week. "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," it added. The ad featured Newsreader Huw Edwards alongside political editor Laura Kuenssberg who praised the decision to remove the videos from Facebook on his Twitter feed.

(With inputs from Associated Press)

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