At some point this blog will no doubt be shut down by Google. Before that happens I hope to have an independent hosting service lined up to host Facing Islam. But no matter what we do, the 'powers and principalities' will do all they can to stamp out any public presentation of True, Apostolic, Orthodox Christianity, and any true, Apostolic, Patristic, Christian criticism of Islam.
I have not experienced any problems yet of this nature. That is no doubt due in large measure to the fact that I have never tried to monetize this blog. I have been criticized by some family members for not doing so, but to me, it is far more important to do all I can to expose the lie of Islam and advance the Truth of Jesus Christ as lived and experienced in the Orthodox Church, than to try to make a few dollars from your clicks on distracting ads.
I do hope at some point to offer some ebooks of my writings for sale here. We'll see what happens when the time comes.
True Christianity itself is being criminalized. We are heading into a period of intense persecution even in the West, and a time for Christians to retreat to the catacombs.
Google is now disapproving ads containing the keyword “jihadwatch”
by Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, September 17, 2017:
I heard from two writers Saturday who told me that Google had banned their book ads because they contained the keyword “jihadwatch.” Note that both writers say that their ads had not been active for years.
I’ve written a great deal lately about how the Left is using Charlottesville as its Reichstag Fire moment to crush all dissent, and this is yet another manifestation of that effort. They’re doing everything they can to deny all access to the means of communication to those whose opinions they hate. It’s a frankly authoritarian agenda.
On Saturday morning, I received this email from Mark Durie, the author of The Third Choice and many other excellent books about Islam, Sharia, and jihad. Durie subsequently wrote me: “It seems that even googling ‘jihadwatch’ is deemed an act of hatred.”
Dear Robert – I had an old add for a book censored by Google.
I set up this add 7 years ago: it hasn’t been active for years.
They banned the keyword ‘jihadwatch’ on the grounds that this keyword is ‘disapproved’.
A Google ad ‘keyword’ means that if someone searches for ‘jihadwatch’ the add might pop up.
Mark
Begin forwarded message:
From: Google AdWords <adwords-noreply@google.com>
Subject: Your AdWords Account: Ad Disapproved
Date: 16 September 2017 at 1:28:01 pm AEST
To: markdurie@gmail.com
Reply-To: Google AdWords <adwords-noreply@google.com>
AdWords account number: 744-913-3425
Hello AdWords Advertiser,
We wanted to alert you that one or more of your ads or keywords have been disapproved. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to show your ads on Google, our search partners, or on Display Network placements until you edit your ads or keywords to make them compliant with our policies.
If this is an error, we want to get your ads back up and running as quickly as possible, and your Google team is here to help. Below you’ll find the reason why your ads or keywords have been disapproved. At the end of this email, you’ll find a Problem Report that includes details about which ads or keywords have been disapproved and what you can do to fix them (if possible).
====================
Disapproval Reason
====================
“Anti” and Violence: Google doesn’t allow the promotion of hate, violence, or negative claims towards any individual or group. See our policy at https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/175902
——————–
Repeated violations of our Advertising Policies may result in a suspension of your AdWords account, so it’s important to address any issues as soon as possible by reviewing our policies. You can review our Advertising Policies at: http://support.google.com/adwordspolicy?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cm&utm_campaign=awpv.
This message was sent from a notification-only email address that doesn’t accept incoming email. If you have questions about our policies, please contact us through the AdWords Help Center at http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/request.py?contact_type=approvals&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cm&utm_campaign=awpv.
Sincerely,
The Google AdWords Team
====================
Problem Report
====================
AdWords account number: 744-913-3425
———————————————-
Campaign: ‘Campaign #1,’ Ad Group: ‘Ad Group #1’
———————————————-
Keyword(s): jihadwatch
Keyword Status: Disapproved
Keyword Issue(s): “Anti” and Violence
~~~~~~~~~
SUGGESTIONS:
-> Fix your ad and website to remove all references to content that violates this policy.
—————————————–
Unsubscribe from policy-related emails for the account associated with markdurie@gmail.com at http://adwords.google.com/um/EmailOptOutLink?token=AOGacIoU7mza7qQKV3KHvpLx1yAcfmGLSHi-q5Vdutga6x0cCiPRqWTDhGX7xL3qOWlBRhF1ZRIR7wyIf5c-KYNj_Jk6T_nfTX-tc2lWAZ-P4jzNOf9Xb3A (this link expires in 30 days).
Google Ireland Ltd.
Gordon House, Barrow Street
Dublin 4, Ireland
Registered in Dublin, Ireland | Registration Number: 368047
Just hours later I received this email from writer Stephen Clements, author of To Save a Life, a novel about the sack of Constantinople by mutinous Crusaders in 1204.
Hello Robert and company,
I found this denial of advertising interesting and wanted to forward it to you.
I once ran an ad with Google to help sell a novel of mine about the sack of Constantinople in 1204 and included Jihad Watch in my relevant search terms, thinking that people who enjoy Jihad Watch (such as myself) would like this book.
I have not ran this ad in years, but yesterday I received this notice that Google will not run my ad because the terms “Anti” and “violence” are not allowable by their standards. As you can clearly tell, the words “Jihad Watch” do not include “anti” or “violence”.
I am insulted by Google at this, and wanted to make sure you knew they were doing this. If you can recommend a method of complaint to Google about this, I’ll be glad to do so.
Thank you, and keep up the good work.
Stephen Clements
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Google AdWords <adwords-noreply@google.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 15, 2017 at 11:32 PM
Subject: Your AdWords Account: Ad Disapproved
To: saffronmohammed@gmail.com
AdWords account number: 743-637-4234
Hello AdWords Advertiser,
We wanted to alert you that one or more of your ads or keywords have been disapproved. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to show your ads on Google, our search partners, or on Display Network placements until you edit your ads or keywords to make them compliant with our policies.
If this is an error, we want to get your ads back up and running as quickly as possible, and your Google team is here to help. Below you’ll find the reason why your ads or keywords have been disapproved. At the end of this email, you’ll find a Problem Report that includes details about which ads or keywords have been disapproved and what you can do to fix them (if possible).
====================
Disapproval Reason
====================
“Anti” and Violence: Google doesn’t allow the promotion of hate, violence, or negative claims towards any individual or group. See our policy at https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/175902
——————–
Repeated violations of our Advertising Policies may result in a suspension of your AdWords account, so it’s important to address any issues as soon as possible by reviewing our policies. You can review our Advertising Policies at: http://support.google.com/adwordspolicy?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cm&utm_campaign=awpv.
This message was sent from a notification-only email address that doesn’t accept incoming email. If you have questions about our policies, please contact us through the AdWords Help Center at http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/request.py?contact_type=approvals&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cm&utm_campaign=awpv.
Sincerely,
The Google AdWords Team
====================
Problem Report
====================
AdWords account number: 743-637-4234
———————————————-
Campaign: ‘To Save A Life,’ Ad Group: ‘TSAL New’
———————————————-
Keyword(s): Jihad Watch
Keyword Status: Disapproved
Keyword Issue(s): “Anti” and Violence
~~~~~~~~~
SUGGESTIONS:
-> Fix your ad and website to remove all references to content that violates this policy.
—————————————–
Unsubscribe from policy-related emails for the account associated with saffronmohammed@gmail.com at http://adwords.google.com/um/EmailOptOutLink?token=AOGacIq5hOAZUnYUxa-lUvUD11l3dZ45l2t1S2p73KK2KCRc4jCtCkxs_pwPujDF_TioD23WbUyK5QQHKNR4NRjfKsU8h0hTgHVVd3PQWyNt-6J_vVzj4FO3E76HkwVXt_Dh8DRgBLXp (this link expires in 30 days).