Google Prop 8 Flap Widens

More website owners are expressing anger at Google for publishing Yes On 8 banners on their sites.

Google has become embroiled in a row about gay marriage, after opponents of same-sex unions in California used the search engine's advertising network to post messages on popular websites against the owner's wishes. A number of American websites, including the widely read TechCrunch and Create Digital Music blogs, featured adverts backing Proposition 8, which would change California’s constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

Peter Kirn, from Create Digital Music, told Times Online: “Not only was this ad was something I disagree with – it could have said 'Vote For McCain' even though I’m an Obama supporter – but it is also an ad that could be seen as offensive to some of my readers." He added: “This an extraordinary breach of trust we’ve put into Google ads.”

Mr Kirn has tried to use Google’s own software to remove the adverts from his site and has contacted the company about the issue. When the adverts remained on the site for several hours despite Mr Kirn’s best efforts to remove them, he said he was forced to remove all Google adverts from his site.

Popular technology websites, followed closely in Silicon Valley and the rest of California, seem to have been the main targets for the adverts. “Denying a fundamental right to a person - such as marriage - is hateful and backwards,” wrote Michael Arrington on TechCrunch. “Google doesn’t have any obligation to run ads like these, and I believe they would be correct in banning.”

I ran Google Ad Sense here on JMG for about two days a few months ago, but the script made the site load so slowly that I had to take it off. I got lucky.