YouTube has reconsidered its advertising criteria, especially during the pandemic period. The Masthead, the area directly above the landing page, is the showcase for YouTube. Google does not want the ads that it does not want to appear in this showcase.
YouTube Rearranges Masthead Ads
Not every ad will be able to appear in the masthead area, which is the most prestigious YouTube ad space. Accordingly, YouTube has banned advertising for alcohol and gambling content. Again, it will not be possible to place political advertisements in this area.
YouTube is currently trying to show users less ads with alcohol and gambling content. According to the choices you make through the Google ad settings, such ads are shown less frequently. Political ads, on the other hand, caused controversy with Trump’s campaign period.
In the 2020 Presidential election of the USA, Twitter and Facebook decided to ban political ads. Behind this decision lies the bot accounts crisis in the social media in the 2016 elections. YouTube, on the other hand, took a different stance from other social media platforms in the elections.
In the 2020 US Presidential elections, YouTube reserved the masthead ad space for Trump for a long time. After this decision, Google was criticized for being under the influence of the elections. It is thought that Google has banned this important advertising space for political ads after these criticisms.
For years, Google has been trying to balance its policies to determine what it displays in ads and what it doesn’t. Recently, Google has taken action against keywording hate speech, political misinformation, and conspiracy theories about COVID-19.