Google has disclosed that public figure impersonation scams and misleading election ads have become familiar threats in Nigeria.
This is as it removed over 700,000 scam-related advertiser accounts globally in 2024. It noted that last year, it updated its misrepresentation policy and assembled a global team of over 100 experts, taking down and took down these scam-related advertiser accounts, which contributed to a 90 percent drop in reported impersonation scams.
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Google revealed this in its newly released ‘2024 Ads Safety Report,’ which showed how advanced artificial intelligence is transforming the fight against bad ads, scams, and misinformation online. The tech giant stated that as scams become more sophisticated, tools must also evolve to stop harmful ads before they ever reach people.
In 2024 alone, Google blocked or removed 5.1 billion ads, restricted 9.1 billion more, and suspended over 39 million advertiser accounts. With nearly half the world’s population heading to the polls in 2024, Google noted that it expanded its election ad transparency, which led to the removal of more than 10 million election-related ads.
It noted that this progress reflects how its AI models are enabling faster and smarter detection of fraud signals.
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“We launched over 50 enhancements to our AI models in 2024,” said Alex Rodriguez, General Manager for Ads Safety at Google. “These improvements helped us move faster, identify threats earlier, and take action before bad actors could reach users. That’s the real power of AI—making the internet safer not just reactively, but proactively.”
Good stated that its recent shift toward proactive prevention comes at a critical time when more people are engaging with the digital environment.
“In Nigeria and across the continent, safe advertising also helps protect livelihoods—ensuring that small businesses, creators, and publishers can continue to benefit from a free and accessible internet,” it added.
