As some of you may or may not have noticed, Google Adwords has been targeting our California readers by placing "Yes on 8" ads on The Dieline. This is inexcusable. I am not sure how long they have been running, but as soon as I noticed this morning I have removed all google ads until google can ensure that they will not run again, or until after the election. Google themselves are publicly against prop 8. I am sorry if this has angered any of our readers as much as it has angered me.
I have largely avoided displaying any political bias in any way on The Dieline, (I don't want to mix politics and packaging!) but I will not stand for hate of any kind. Regardless of how you personally feel about marriage, any group that wants to remove constitutional rights is not acceptable, it is pure discrimination and hate. As a gay Californian, I will not stand for this. I believe in equal rights for all, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. I will not profit from these hateful ads, and I have taken all of today earnings and donated them directly to the NO on 8 campaign. I urge every Californian to please vote NO on 8. Please don't take away my rights. Thank You.
Andrew Gibbs
Founder & Editor In Chief
UPDATE: I agree with some of the comments about not directly blaming Google, but the problem is, as far as I know, Google has never run any political ads on this site, ever. Google Adwords are contextual ads that are supposed to relate to the content of the site, and in the past they have worked incredibly well. I have never had to filter the ads because they were never a problem, until now. Just how is a "Yes on 8" ad related to packaging? This is not a political site, and there is nothing in the content that would trigger these ads. The fact that they allowed a completely unrelated ad on the site is what frustrates me. I have set the ads to filter (thanks Jason!), but it says it may take several hours.
