YouTube ads from major brands are landing on Project 2025 videos

YouTube’s automated advertising systems are placing video ads from major brands alongside content that promotes controversial Project 2025 policy proposals and election misinformation, according to a new report.

Researchers from Eko, a nonprofit consumer watchdog, reviewed advertisements that appeared alongside a sample of 11 videos on Google’s YouTube that backed Project 2025 policies, conspiracy theories about the 2020 US election and hateful rhetoric. The videos included ads from over 60 global brands, including SKIMS, BetterHelp, Verizon and Slack. Several of the brands have publicly made diversity, equity and inclusion commitments that appear to run counter to the video messaging.

Some of the videos in the study appeared to violate YouTube’s content and monetization guidelines, which prohibit election misinformation and hate speech. Collectively the videos gathered nearly 1.3 million views, and the channels behind them had more than 25 million subscribers combined.

“Google and YouTube have a responsibility to make sure …