In August 2022, four Muslim men were arrested after they were accused of causing deadly floods that hit the north-east Indian state of Assam.

A barrage of comments on social media claimed that they were waging “flood jihad” in the Hindu-majority city of Silchar by deliberately damaging flood defences, but the police found no proof of this. Investigations by the BBC and Indian fact-checking outlet Alt News also found these claims to be false at the time. (Disclaimer: this author used to work for Alt News.)

Yet, at least four websites not only continue to carry stories about the debunked conspiracy theory, but also to profit from them through advertisements placed on those articles. Through Google’s Adsense programme, these online publishers are estimated to earn $10-$20 for every 1,000 views on these stories – even while Google has actively promoted its efforts to fight online disinformation and a policy against hateful conduct.

Source: How Google Ads Are Funding Disinformation Campaigns in India