Health Affairs Ads Containing Racism Rejected By Google And Twitter, Here's Why

Health Affairs is a reputable peer-reviewed journal widely read by people working in public health and public policy. (photo: twitter @Health_Affairs)

JAKARTA - The medical journal Health Affairs spent years planning a special issue on health and racism, which was published in early February. This journal wants to reach new readers by promoting this issue through targeted advertising on Twitter and YouTube.

"That's why we find it so frustrating when Twitter and Google block their ads before they go up," said Patti Sweet, Director of Digital Strategy at Health Affairs. Journal Google ad accounts are also suspended. Sweet wrote in a blog post outlining those frustrations last week. He estimates that the use of the word "racism" was the trigger for the rejection.

But Twitter and Google said ad disclaimers had nothing to do with language around racism, rather, they were blocked because of policies around advocacy and COVID-19.

The confusion highlights how health research sometimes doesn't fit into the categories used by tech companies to flag potentially problematic content, making it difficult for them to release credible information when certain keywords pop up.

Get caught up today on @Health_Affairs' February 2022 issue! Racism is the reason for large, sustained health inequities in the US. The Health Affairs February issue is dedicated to #RacismAndHealth w/ an emphasis on structural racism. Read more here: https://t.co/yfeax6Dg5N pic.twitter.com/OYxqozLHYL

— Health Affairs (@Health_Affairs) February 18, 2022

Health Affairs is a reputable peer-reviewed journal widely read by people working in public health and public policy. Health issues and racism in the journal, released last week, include articles on the sexual and reproductive health of black women in the South, racial bias in electronic health records, health and police encounters, and inequities in the use of health agents in the home. “We hope to use advertising to attract a new audience to the special issue,” said Sweet, as quoted by The Verge.

Instead, Google gave a different assessment of the effort. "Google blocked the journal ad because the ad video was to discuss COVID-19," Christa Muldoon, communications and public affairs manager, told The Verge.

Ads for content that mention COVID-19 must follow the company's "sensitive event" policy, which automatically blocks ads "potentially profiting from or exploiting sensitive events".

Twitter said in a statement that ads were blocked under a "cause-based" policy, which requires advertisers to be certified before publishing ads that "educate, raise awareness, and/or call on people to take action with respect to civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship, or causes of social justice.”

Twitter's cause-based advertising policy was enacted in November 2019 as part of its political advertising regulations aimed at protecting against bad actors co-opting the platform and covering topics from climate change to animal rights.

Sweet said he was familiar with Twitter's policies, but would not assume journal content would fall under a cause-based policy. "We are not advocating in the name of something. We're just putting the information out there," he said.

Health Affairs also got one notice for ads being removed by Twitter under its "inappropriate content" policy, according to a screenshot Sweet shared with The Verge.

The ad is similar to the one flagged under the cause-based policy and illustrates how a particular issue focuses on racism and health. Twitter spokeswoman Laura Pacas said in an email to The Verge that any ads would be disapproved under the same cause-based policy.

Sweet said he thought tech companies' policies around advertising were important, but that they were being applied to small groups like Health Affairs in an unfair way. He can't easily reach someone on Google or Twitter to address the issue as quickly as he does at a major media agency.

As a result, he had difficulty getting information from the company about the reason for blocking the ad. Nor does Sweet consider Health Affairs to fall into the category of advocacy that Twitter policy dictates, for example, to target.

"We are not a political organization, but when a machine sees 'health policy', they may assume politics," said Sweet. “And when they see us talking about racism and health, they might think we're advocating on behalf of something for politicians. So, the brand is awkward on the ground everywhere. ”

Health Affairs got its cause-based certification for Twitter this week and plans to repost its ads. Sweet said Google's ad accounts were also reactivated after he appealed. He hopes his team can now direct the spotlight to research, rather than conflicts with tech companies.

"We can't share it with the world as much as we would like," he said. "Instead, we're talking about Google and Twitter.".