The new policy for Google advertisers, publishers, and
YouTube creators will prohibit the platforms from helping people make money
from content that "contradicts well-established scientific consensus
around the existence and causes of climate change."
That includes online content referring to climate change as
a hoax or a scam, or denying the world's temperature is rising and that human
activity is contributing to the problem, Google said in a post.
"Advertisers simply don't want their advertisements to
appear next to this content," Google said.
"And publishers and creators don't want advertisements
promoting these claims to appear on their pages or videos."
The Internet giant added that the policy change aligns with
efforts by the company to promote sustainable practices and confront climate
change.
"Google's important decision to demonetise climate
misinformation could turn the tide on the climate denial economy," said
NGO Avaaz campaign director Fadi Quran.
"For years, climate misinformers have confused public
opinion and obstructed urgent political action on climate change, and YouTube
has been one of their weapons of choice."
Quran urged other online platforms to follow Google's lead
and stop funneling money to those peddling debunked denials of climate change.
Social networking colossus Facebook, which is Google's
biggest competitor in the digital advertising market, touts efforts to curb
climate misinformation at its platform but has no such advertisement ban in
place.
Social media platforms are regularly accused of promoting
content that provokes strong emotional responses in order to keep users engaged
so the platforms can make more money made from advertisements, even if the
content can cause harm.