Excerpt of article by Josh Lee
YouTube users have been hitting out at the platform after adverts linking to hardcore pornography began to appear before videos on the website’s trending page.
As first reported by Motherboard, videos from popular YouTubers including Markiplier, PewDiePie, Dude Perfect have been displaying an ad featuring a link to a site named “hot girl 2018, ” which features a lot of extremely NSFW content.
So I’m watching @pewdiepie on @YouTube because I’m trash and I click on the next video and I’m greeted with an ad of a dancing chick titled “Hot Girl 2018” and this thumbnail. So you’re demonetizing actual content and promoting this then @TeamYouTube? Cool. pic.twitter.com/4CVt2qfGzi
— Epifuria (@Epifuria) April 10, 2018
YouTube removed the pornographic ads once they were alerted.
In a statement, the said “We have clear policies against ads featuring graphic adult content. When we become aware of an ad that violates our policies, we immediately remove it and take appropriate action, including, and up to, suspending the responsible account.”
YouTube’s advertising policy strictly prohibits explicit adult content from being served on any YouTube video.