Brand Safety Nightmare: When Clicks Fund the Unspeakable – Part 1

For years, ImgBB (and its affiliate, ibb.co) has operated as an anonymous, ad-supported image-sharing platform, drawing over 40 million monthly page views while carefully concealing its ownership details. Unlike mainstream hosting sites, ImgBB allows users to upload and share images without registration, making it a haven for anonymity – but also a breeding ground for harmful content.

A recent investigation by Adalytics, an adtech transparency start-up, has exposed a troubling reality: ads from government agencies, universities, and some of the world’s biggest brands – including Adidas, Google, and Amazon – were unknowingly placed on ImgBB pages containing explicit child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Despite being flagged repeatedly by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and banned by Reddit, the site continued to receive advertising revenue through programmatic ad placements.

The revelation has reignited concerns over brand safety and the opaque nature of digital advertising. The allegation is that ad verification tools like DoubleVerify and IAS, which are meant to safeguard brands from harmful placements, failed to detect and block these ads – misclassifying them as “brand-safe”. Meanwhile, ad tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft maintain content policies, but have provided little transparency on how enforcement is handled.

Following the report, US Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal have sent letters to tech giants, including Google and Amazon, demanding answers.

(DoubleVerify has issued a response to the Adalytics report alleging that the company failed to block ads from appearing alongside illegal content on imgBB.com. DoubleVerify asserts that it takes such issues seriously, emphasizing its commitment to preventing ads from supporting harmful content. They clarify that ads on imgBB.com represented a tiny fraction of their total impressions, and that their pre-bid and post-bid controls successfully blocked many ads on the site. They also state that there is no evidence suggesting ads appeared alongside CSAM as claimed. In response, DoubleVerify is reviewing its practices, introducing more stringent measures for image-hosting sites, and reinforcing its focus on preventing the monetization of CSAM by collaborating with third-party organisations.)

With programmatic advertising becoming increasingly automated, brands face growing ethical and reputational risks when they cannot fully control where their ads appear. This latest controversy underscores a stark reality: in the high-speed superhighway of digital ad buying, dollars often land in the wrong places, sometimes funding platforms that no responsible advertiser would ever willingly support.

Are Indian brands vulnerable?

Indian brands face the same risk of having their ads placed on brand-unsafe websites. In this two-part series, Adgully explores the challenges and seeks answers to how brands can safeguard their digital advertising.

Experts Adgully spoke to agree that Indian brands are vulnerable to similar ad misplacements on unsafe websites, making it imperative for advertisers to take steps to safeguard their campaigns.

Many Indian brands unknowingly advertise on user-generated content (UGC) sites, some of which have been flagged for malicious or exploitative content, says Sumon K Chakrabarti, Co-founder and CEO, Buffalo Soldiers. He adds that similar to the ibb.co and imgbb.com controversy, India has several such platforms where CSAM and other unsafe content may circulate.

Chakrabarti believes that brand safety in India has rarely been a major discussion point. However, he notes, with the market rapidly evolving and expanding, it may take just one major scandal to bring it to the forefront and push regulators to take action. The bottom line is simple: with India’s $12-billion digital ad industry booming, advertisers cannot afford to ignore brand safety anymore.

As India’s digital ad market grows, so do the risks of ad misplacement, notes Ambika Sharma, Founder and Chief Strategist, Pulp Strategy. She explains that while programmatic advertising is efficient, it often lacks the human oversight needed to ensure brand safety. Many brands remain unaware that their ads may appear on sites linked to misinformation, piracy, or worse – until it’s too late.

“How vulnerable are Indian brands to unsafe ad placements, and what can they do about it? The short answer: Very. Without proper safeguards, ads can end up in places misaligned with a brand’s values. The challenge is that many brands rely on automated bidding systems that prioritize cost efficiency over safety,” she says.

Her advice to advertisers: Invest in ad verification tools like DoubleVerify and MOAT, enforce strict whitelists and blacklists, and avoid open programmatic networks. Prioritize private marketplace (PMP) deals over open exchanges to reduce risk, and use AI-powered fraud detection tools to monitor and flag questionable sites in real time.

Amit Duggal, Founder of Monkeyminds, concurs with  Sumon K Chakrabarti on this. Duggal highlights that Indian brands face heightened risks due to:

• Ad fraud surges:During festive seasons, ad fraud spikes by 20-30%, fuelled by increased digital ad spending, which makes up 40-50% of annual marketing budgets for many companies.
• Sophisticated malvertising:Tactics such as forced redirects and AI-powered scams have grown by 10% in 2024, making brand safety an even greater concern.

As India’s digital advertising market continues to grow, brands face an increasing risk of ad placements on unsafe websites, including those that promote misinformation or illegal content, points out Sajal Gupta, Chief Executive, Kiaos Marketing Pvt Ltd.

This issue arises primarily due to the automated nature of programmatic advertising, which often lacks rigorous checks. To mitigate this risk, he adds, advertisers must adopt advanced ad tracking tools, collaborate with platforms, and demand transparent reports on ad placements.

Yasin Hamidani, Director, Media Care Brand Solutions, notes that Indian brands are increasingly vulnerable to ad misplacements on unsafe websites as the digital ad market grows. The reliance on automated ad placement systems, which may not fully vet all sites, heightens the risk of ads appearing on inappropriate platforms.

Hamidani suggests that in order to safeguard campaigns, advertisers should implement robust ad verification tools, partner with trusted third-party platforms, and utilize blacklists to avoid unsafe sites.

Regular monitoring of ad placements, along with AI-driven fraud detection systems, can help identify and prevent such misplacements. Adopting a proactive, multi-layered approach ensures brands maintain control over where their ads appear, he adds.

According to Dhiraj Gupta, CTO & Co-Founder, mFilterIt, digital advertising now dominates ad spending, holding a 49% share (Rs 49,251 crore), per a recent Dentsu report. However, this rapid growth also heightens the risk of ad misplacement on unsafe websites, particularly on UGC platforms and content-hosting services where anyone can upload material – including misleading, inappropriate, or harmful content.

According to him, the rise of AI further amplifies this challenge by making such content easier to create. Beyond ad misplacement, another critical issue is the monetization of harmful content, including CSAM.

“Ensuring such content is not monetized reduces the financial incentive for its creation and distribution. Recent regulatory discussions with major digital platforms like Google, Meta, and ShareChat highlight growing awareness of the need for stricter content hosting measures. In a linguistically diverse country like India, addressing this challenge becomes even more complex and urgent,” he says.

“To curb this issue, tackling the monetization aspect is equally crucial, as many such websites rely on advertising for revenue. By preventing ad spend from reaching these platforms, brands can help diminish financial incentives for unsafe content. To safeguard their campaigns, advertisers should adopt brand safety solutions, leverage third-party ad verification, and implement well-defined inclusion and exclusion lists” Gupta adds.

(Tomorrow: Part 2 will explore: Should India adopt stricter ad verification guidelines like global best practices? How can ad tech firms, verification companies, and advertisers collaborate for better transparency and brand safety? And how can AI help tackle ad fraud and enhance brand protection?)