from Hacker News

Google has given $150k in free ads to deceptive anti-abortion group

by ductionist on 5/13/19, 5:23 AM with 34 comments

  • by teddyh on 5/13/19, 11:25 AM

    Former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich gave a mere $1,000 to Prop 8, and he was forced to resign over it. Will Google face any backlash from giving $150,000 worth of advertising to this pro-life organization?

  • by panpanna on 5/13/19, 8:06 AM

    So they run a bunch of clinics that pretend to offer abortion but when you get there they try to talk you out of it?

    First of all, how can an organization running this many clinics be considered a non-profit eligible for Googles ad grant?

  • by pjc50 on 5/13/19, 9:14 AM

    I see the green-name astroturf is strong on this one.

    The whole setup is odd. Google giving free advertising to selected non-profits is inherently a political act. Giving free advertising to "both sides" doesn't balance it out or make it non-political.

  • by 1892892koko on 5/13/19, 4:55 PM

    I disagree with the premise that these groups are deceptive. There's two claims implied by that statement that I don't agree with:

    1) A large portion of the women heading to these centers are unaware of the existence / legality of abortion in their state. Considering these are online advertisements, they can necessarily do an online search to determine that information already, and it's well-known public discourse.

    2) The only valid response to an unplanned pregnancy is abortion. Therefore, not recommending abortion is deceptive.

  • by veriuhri on 5/13/19, 5:45 AM

    And?

  • by frittig on 5/13/19, 8:30 AM

    I'm not sure what the issue is. I couldn't find in the article a screenshot of the exact ad (why?) but assuming that it is presenting itself as a pregnancy crisis center than I see nothing wrong. If someone had an unwanted pregnancy there are several things that can be done, abortion is one of them, but there are others. If, let's say, the mother doesn't want the baby because she cannot financially support it, then a charity that can support the baby might be a better solution to the mother than abortion.

    Some organizations only offer abortion (planned Parenthood) others don't (the one in the article). Each mother should have the option and knowledge to choose the one that is appropriate for her.