Google's ad policies are quite clear about hate speech. It does not allow "content that incites hatred against, promotes discrimination of, or disparages an individual or group on the basis of their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or other characteristic that is associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization." The company gives as examples of inappropriate ads "content promoting hate groups or hate group paraphernalia" and "content that encourages others to believe that a person or group is inhuman, inferior, or worthy of being hated."
Google subsidiary
YouTube's general hate speech policy is similar: "Hate speech is not allowed on YouTube. We remove content promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on…immigration status." Ads must adhere to this policy.
Why, then, is the
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)—a powerful anti-immigrant hate group, according to the
Southern Poverty Law Center—allowed to buy ads on Google and YouTube that promote its website? FAIR, which emerged from the American white nationalist movement in
1979, has paid Google/YouTube nearly $130,000 to promote its political content since February, per Google's Transparency Report, which catalogues political ad spending from May 31,
2018 to the present.