Google pauses ad sales in Russia over Ukraine invasion

Google is pushing pause on all ad sales in Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine.

The company confirmed in a statement to The Verge it would be "pausing Google ads in Russia" due to "the extraordinary circumstances" in Ukraine.

"The situation is evolving quickly, and we will continue to share updates when appropriate," a spokesperson said.

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Google previously announced that it would block Russian state media channels across Europe, and Russian state media outlets were also banned from running ads. Google, according to The New York Times, had also blocked ads related to the conflict in Ukraine.

The decision to suspend all ad sales in Russia, though, came after Russia demanded Google stop running ads it claimed contained "false political information" about the Ukraine invasion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The country's communications watchdog claimed YouTube was running "advertising campaigns to misinform the Russian audience" and "aimed at creating a distorted perception of current events."