Google will now permanently ban advertisers who fake endorsements

Google has announced an update to its advertising policies that officially bans ads with fake endorsements. The policy, which goes into effect next month, also bans advertising that impersonates a public figure or brand to promote a product or service.

It's good news for Mark Cuban, and anyone who has ever been tricked or just annoyed by those scammy weight loss ads that falsely claim to be affiliated with Shark Tank. A report on those ads from adtech watchdog organization Check My Ads — first reported on by Mashable — appears to have had a potentially far-reaching impact on internet advertising.

"In March 2024, Google Ads will update the Unacceptable business practices portion of the Misrepresentation policy to include enticing users to part with money or information by impersonating or falsely implying affiliation with or endorsement by a public figure, brand, or organization," reads the update posted on Google's Advertising Policies change log.

This change comes after Google had previously claimed that ads with phony endorsements were already in violation of its rules, suggesting that dealing with ads like these was business as usual. The strong wording of Google's new update, however, suggests that policing fake endorsements will now be a major priority and permanent action will be taken against the advertisers' account as well.

Google's updated approach is already resulting in a noticeable change. Mashable came across dozens of Shark Tank keto gummy ads running on Google search last month. Today, there are none.

"We take violations of this policy very seriously and consider them egregious," Google's policy update continues. "If we find violations of this policy, we will suspend your Google Ads accounts upon detection and without prior warning, and you will not be allowed to advertise with us again."

Google is letting advertisers know now that claiming false endorsements to promote your product will result in a permanent ban.

"This is remarkable news," Check My Ads co-founder Nandini Jammi told Mashable. "This has never just been a Mark Cuban or Shark Tank problem, this has always been a Google problem. The Internet is awash with false endorsement ads such as these. Google’s new policy not only applies to all of the shark tank keto fraudsters, [but] they’ve also declared permanent bans on the individuals running them. This is the kind of change we want to see."

Google's forceful crackdown on these fake endorsement ads will benefit users, especially at a time when AI-created content is able to create audio and visual fakes to trick consumers into buying products based on false affiliations.

Shark Tank keto gummy ads, no more?

Earlier this year, ads for a weight loss product referred to as "Shark Tank keto gummies" were a scourge. Some of these ads directed users to a fake website designed to look like the official page for ABC's Shark Tank, a hit reality show which Mark Cuban is on.

Google search was filled with fake Shark Tank keto gummy ads as recently as late January 2024. Credit: Check My Ads

Cuban had originally reached out to Jammi to highlight the issue and even shared how he would receive distraught emails from fans of the show who were duped by the fake endorsement ads and bought the product, which did not work as advertised.

Google informed Mashable at the time of publication in January 2024 that the search giant was looking into the fake endorsement ads. Less than a month later, Google has now updated its policies to specifically end these scammy practices.

"Judging by the language in their updated policy, Google appears to be addressing the exact scam that these Shark Tank scammers have been engaging in," Jammi told Mashable.

Check My Ads originally reached out to Google to report these scams months ago. However, those initial reports from Check My Ads were ignored.

"But when we put [Google] on blast, and you wrote a story in Mashable that was picked up within the advertising industry, the company pulled the ads and updated their policy in three weeks flat," Jammi said.

"We can do a little happy dance today knowing our pressure led to this significant change in policy and enforcement from the world's largest advertising corporation."