Trump ads on forum

[RavenOfSummer]

I was browsing the mobile version of the forum last night on my phone, and was disturbed to see an ad for Trump 2020 Given all of Trump's work against immigrants, inciting violence against people of color, up to and including his most recent attacks on democracy in the face of peaceful protests against racism and police brutality, it was jarring to say the least to see his face and a message promoting him when I opened up the forum, a place I associate with safety and spirituality. I am guessing this is just part of a general ad package on the forum and that the forum didn't sell ad space to Trump 2020. Still, I wonder if something can be done about this? It was extremely disturbing. I'm attaching a screenshot to show what I mean.

Thanks for listening!

[Pen]

I'm not 100% sure about this, but you can check it out fairly easily. It seems to be the case (at least on the PC) that if I'm signed in I don't see any ads - it might be the same on the mobile too. I believe the ads are random, or at any rate not selected by website owners but (probably) by algorithms.

[Joan Marie]

YIKES!!!

You were not logged in I assume, because members do not see ads.

That aside, I will shut off the ad program if it is running political ads.
I will contact google ads about this.
Nobody wants that.

Sorry for that, I had no idea they were doing that.

EDIT: And thanks for letting me know!

[RavenOfSummer]

YIKES!!!

You were not logged in I assume, because members do not see ads.

That aside, I will shut off the ad program if it is running political ads.
I will contact google ads about this.
Nobody wants that.

Sorry for that, I had no idea they were doing that.

Joan Marie, THANK YOU!!!! It really means a lot that you are taking swift action on this I do think as Pen also suggested I must not have been logged in on my phone- I usually browse the forum on my computer and it was probably so long since I visited on my phone that I was automatically logged out. In any case, I really appreciate your concern and your action on this. It makes all the difference in the forum continuing to feel like a safe space

[Joan Marie]

Joan Marie, THANK YOU!!!! It really means a lot that you are taking swift action on this I do think as Pen also suggested I must not have been logged in on my phone- I usually browse the forum on my computer and it was probably so long since I visited on my phone that I was automatically logged out. In any case, I really appreciate your concern and your action on this. It makes all the difference in the forum continuing to feel like a safe space

I have contacted Google ads about this and asked if there is a way to block political ads or do I have to disable the ads until after the election.

I have disabled them in the meanwhile as i wait for their response.

Thank you sooo much for letting me know about this.

[Joan Marie]

I found a setting in google ads where I can block political ads. I have now done that.

I also blocked a couple of other annoying ad types. I was not aware I could do that, but now it's done.
Hopefully that takes care of the problem.

I will wait a couple of days before enabling the ads. Again, only non-signed-in users see them. But political ads, especially the ones you reported, are a no-go here.

FYI- I run the ads for 2 reasons:
1. It's an incentive for people to join the forum so they can use it without the distraction of the ads.
2. It brings in a teensy bit of money. I mean, it's literally pennies a day. They don't pay until my "revenues" exceed €70. I have been using goolge ads for just over a year now and am expecting my first check later this month for €80 or so. So, it's not exactly a big cash cow but I won't turn it down either.

Reason 1 is my main reason. But if changing the settings doesn't fix the problem of political ads I will kick the whole thing to the curb.

Anyone seeing any political ads of any kind, please let me know. Because I am in Europe I do not think I would see American political ads anyway so I rely on you guys to let me know.

Thank you!!

[RavenOfSummer]

I found a setting in google ads where I can block political ads. I have now done that.

I also blocked a couple of other annoying ad types. I was not aware I could do that, but now it's done.
Hopefully that takes care of the problem.

I will wait a couple of days before enabling the ads. Again, only non-signed-in users see them. But political ads, especially the ones you reported, are a no-go here.

FYI- I run the ads for 2 reasons:
1. It's an incentive for people to join the forum so they can use it without the distraction of the ads.
2. It brings in a teensy bit of money. I mean, it's literally pennies a day. They don't pay until my "revenues" exceed €70. I have been using goolge ads for just over a year now and am expecting my first check later this month for €80 or so. So, it's not exactly a big cash cow but I won't turn it down either.

Reason 1 is my main reason. But if changing the settings doesn't fix the problem of political ads I will kick the whole thing to the curb.

Anyone seeing any political ads of any kind, please let me know. Because I am in Europe I do not think I would see American political ads anyway so I rely on you guys to let me know.

Thank you!!

Thank you Joan Marie!!