Google will not run any election-related ads after polls for the US presidential election close on November 3rd, reported to Axios. In an email obtained by the publication, the search giant warns advertisers they won’t be able to run ads “referencing candidates, the election or its outcome, given that an unprecedented amount of votes will be counted after election day this year.”
While the winner of the US presidential election is often announced on election night, this year the process is expected to take longer as more people are voting by mail due to the pandemic. That window could give the political campaigns of Donald Trump or Joe Biden a chance to run ads prematurely claiming victory and spreading confusion about the results.
To limit misinformation about the outcome of the vote, Facebook recently announced it will block ads from political campaigns that declare an early victory. The company is also banning new political ads the week before the election.
Google said its policy blocks ads that mention the election, its results, or that target people based on election-related search queries, Axios reports. It will apply to ads running across the company’s ad-serving platforms, which include Google Ads and YouTube.
