Christian Exodus banned from Google ads

Despite accepting advertisements for such groups as homosexual singles sites, Google is coming under scrutiny again for allegedly banning commercials for a Christian organization.

ChristianExodus.org, the group looking to have like-minded people move to one state to help restore godly values to government, says it's been rejected from placing ads on Google AdSense.

An e-mail from the Mountain View, Calif.-based company cited "sensitive content" as the reason for the rejection, though it was not specific in what was considered sensitive.

"After reviewing your application, our program specialists have found that it does not comply with our policies," the Google AdSense Team wrote. "We have reviewed your site and found that many of the ads that would appear on your site would not be relevant to your site's content. As the ads would not provide a valuable experience for your site's users or our advertisers, we feel that your site isn't a good fit for the AdSense program at this time."

The news disappointed Keith Humphrey, who was looking for ways to generate revenue for the site.

"The traffic alone could have been worth hundreds of dollars per month, with links to Christian bookstores and other things, but it did not meet their 'criteria,'" Humphrey wrote in a letter to Cory Burnell, president of ChristianExodus. "No doubt they accept sites promoting 'gay marriage' and things like that, but we are the ones who are rejected due to 'sensitive content.'"

Google provided two Web pages outlining policies, but neither mention the word "sensitive."

Under the content section, some preclusions listed include:

Excessive profanity;

Violence, racial intolerance, or advocate against any individual, group, or organization;

Hacking/cracking content;

Illicit drugs and drug paraphernalia;

Pornography, adult, or mature content;

Gambling or casino-related content, etc.

WND asked Google a series of questions, including: "What sensitive content precludes this group?" and "Is there some kind of anti-Christian bias involved?"

Google spokesman Barry Schnitt would not provide any specifics about sensitive content, stating only, "Any suggestion that Google discriminates in our policies is absolutely false. Our AdSense policies prohibit websites that advocate
against any individual, group or organization."

This is not the first time Google has been criticized for nixing ads based on content.

As WND previously reported, Google banned the Christian organization Stand to Reason's advertisements promoting its stance against homosexuality, saying the group promotes "hate."

A conservative book publisher also said the search engine rejected his ad for a book critical of Bill and Hillary Clinton while continuing to accept anti-Bush themes.

In addition, Google has been criticized for allowing ads critical of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, allegedly censoring conservative ads, and giving priority to large media companies in searches performed on Google News.

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