Pro-Trump, Clinton, Sanders campaign ads spotted next to ISIS videos on YouTube

Digital ads from groups supporting US presidential candidates have been inadvertently placed alongside videos on YouTube that are likely to have been uploaded by ISIS supporters, according to a report from the Digital Citizens Alliance.

The report's authors spotted videos that appear to be produced by ISIS' media department, Al-Hayat Media Center and others that contained "terrorist/Jihadi images and messaging," which were surrounded by ads from all of the major remaining US presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Marco Rubio.

Digital Citizens Alliance concluded it is likely that at least some of these videos were uploaded by ISIS supporters, or other Jihadi groups. Most of the videos in question contain Nasheeds (Islamic songs.) Nasheeds have a traditional non-violent role in Islamic prayers and custom. However, Digital Citizens Alliance says the videos it referenced in the report - which its authors viewed in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Virgina in the run up to the primaries in those locations - specificially contained Jihadi messages and or images.

Ads appeared alongside these videos because the uploaders were members of YouTube's partnership program. On partner program videos like these, YouTube shares the profits from ads with the video creators.

It's hard to tell for sure if the ads were uploaded by ISIS or ISIS supporters, but the report concludes that money from campaigns that support current or former candidates in the Democrat and Republican leadership race could have accidentally funded accounts which are related to terrorist organizations.

"YouTube has clear policies that outline what content is acceptable to post"

A representative from Google told Business Insider that the company is unable to comment on specific cases, but that it endeavors to remove content relating to terrorist organizations.

"YouTube has clear policies that outline what content is acceptable to post, and we prohibit content related to dangerous or illegal activities and terrorism. YouTube's teams review videos that are flagged around the clock, and work quickly to remove material that violates our policies," Google said in an emailed statement.

Business Insider found that some of the videos highlighted in the report, published Wednesday, have already been removed by YouTube.

Ad misplacement has been a huge problem for marketers since the dawn of programmatic advertising technology, which allows them to place their ads using automated means. While this is helpful in reducing the time and cost associated with buying online advertising, there is the risk that ads can end up next to content marketers would rather not be associated with - terrorism videos, porn, online piracy, and so on.

Advertisers expect a level of due diligence from the platforms they advertise on to ensure ad misplacement doesn't occur - but with the sheer volume of advertising transactions that take place every day, some mistakes do slip through the net.

See the presidential ads placed next to videos which contained allegedJihadi images and messaging below: