Next month the Google Ads Political Content Policy will be updated and advertisers will be required to further clarify the “Paid for by” disclosure directly in the ad. 

New requirements. Google has outlined the requirements for both visual and audio ads as follows:

In visual formats such as text and banner ads, Google requires the disclosure to be “visible at all times and be of sufficient size to be visible to an average viewer. 

For audio, “the disclosure must be substantially similar in pitch, tone and speed to the rest of the ad.”

Read the full policy. Advertisers can review the announcement here.

Introducing YouTube Audio Ads. US Election Ads that serve in the US may also be eligible to run Audio Ads on YouTube. The YouTube Audio Ads feature is in beta and the program may or may not be available to all advertisers. To run YouTube Audio Ads, advertisers must complete the US Election Ads verification. 

Why we care. Starting next month, Advertisers who run political ads will need to comply with the new policies or risk having their ads disapproved or accounts banned. While I understand and applaud Google for taking steps to ensure transparency, I’m not entirely sure that a “Paid for by” disclosure is as important as squelching fake news.