Google is profiting from ads placed by anti-abortion groups for so-called crisis pregnancy centers that pose as reproductive health care clinics but aim to dissuade pregnant people from accessing abortion care, according to a report released Thursday.
The report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit that aims to counter online misinformation, found that Google earned an estimated $10.2 million from ads for fake abortion clinics in the past two years.
The fake clinic ads targeted 15,000 queries related to abortion, such as “abortion pill,” “abortion clinic,” “abortion clinic near me” and “Planned Parenthood,” according to the report.
Researchers for CCDH analyzed ads from a list of 188 identified fake clinic websites that placed ads on Google Search between March 1, 2021, and February 28, 2023, using enterprise analytics tool Semrush.
An analysis of keyword data found that 84 percent of the 188 fake clinics have at some time targeted users searching for abortion-related keywords or phrases.
Researchers found that 71 percent of fake clinic websites advertising on Google Search used at least deceptive techniques to mislead abortion seekers. The deceptive techniques included promoting misleading claims linking abortion to harm such as cancer, failing to carry homepage disclaimers stating they do not provide abortions, and promoting so-called abortion “reversal.”
The researchers found that the anti-abortion movement spent four times as much on Google Search ads for fake clinics than it did on Google Search ads for overt campaigns to restrict abortion care, indicating a focus on ads for the fake clinics.
Thursday’s report follows one published by CCDH in September 2021 that found ads for dangerous abortion “reversal” appeared on 83 percent of Google searches for abortions.
In response to that report, Google said it would remove any ads promoting abortion reversal pills and prohibit ads containing unproven medical claims.
The new report found, however, that Google has accepted an estimated $2.6 million to run Google search ads for fake clinic websites that promoted abortion “reversal” since its pledge. That sum was spent by a total of 72 fake clinic websites promoting abortion “reversal” and placed ads between October 2021 and February 2023, according to the report.
A Google spokesperson said the company requires “any organization that wants to advertise to people seeking information about abortion services to be certified and clearly disclose whether they do or do not offer abortions.”
The spokesperson also said Google does not allow ads promoting abortion reversal treatments and prohibits advertisers from “misleading people about the services they offer.”
“We remove or block ads that violate these policies. We know that people come to Google looking for information they can trust during deeply personal moments and are committed to ensuring advertisements on this topic are clear and easily understood,” the spokesperson added.
CCDH recommended Google demand transparency from fake clinics running ads and highlight and prioritize genuine abortion clinics.
It also recommends lawmakers give the Federal Trade Commission the power to prohibit misleading advertising on abortion.
The Google spokesperson said the company reviewed the advertisers in this report and has taken enforcement action on content that violates our policies related to abortion reversal.
According to the spokesperson, Google’s abortion ad disclosure policy applies specifically to advertisers targeting queries or terms related to getting an abortion. If an advertiser is targeting general information keyword terms, those ads would not receive the disclosure, meaning some of the ads in the report may not fall under Google’s existing policy.