A Trillion Dollars in Leverage: AI is Killing the Internet, But Advertisers Can Save It, Says UN Issue Brief
In a recent issue brief from the United Nations and the Conscious Advertising Network released a new issue brief, explaining how AI-powered advertising is deepening an already serious global information crisis.
With global ad spend now exceeding 1 trillion dollars a year, the brief highlights the “untapped power” of major brands to shape how AI develops across the digital information ecosystem.
The brief, How AI and Advertising are Intensifying the Global Information Crisis, shows that the systems funding our digital environment are increasingly automated and opaque, while safeguards for safety, rights and information integrity lag behind.
The briefing builds on a growing international framework including the UN’s Global Principles for Information Integrity, which set out responsibilities for platforms, advertisers and governments.
The report identifies 5 main risks posed by AI and advertising:
- Financing disinformation and hate – AI driven, programmatic systems continue to direct ad spend to outlets that spread mis- and disinformation and hate speech.
- Lack of transparency in AI ad tools – advertisers have limited visibility over how AI tools target audiences, place ads and rank content, making it harder to trace how harmful content and scams propagate through the ecosystem.
- Erosion of independent media – AI driven content, search and recommendation systems can divert attention and revenue away from accountable journalism, weakening trusted information sources.
- Amplification of harmful content – optimisation systems tuned for engagement tend to reward the most sensational content, undermining trust.
- Growing governance gaps – AI adoption in advertising is outpacing regulation, rights-based safeguards and corporate accountability, leaving policymakers and the public struggling to keep up.
The report also identifies key solutions available to policymakers and advertisers:
- Invest in responsible AI tools that contribute to incentivizing a more responsible approach to innovation with clear and well-enforced safety measures.
- Advertisers should demand transparency to protect against fraud and support a human-rights responsible advertising placement and monetization system to ensure quality content is adequately paid for by AI companies reliant upon it.
- Align with the UN Global Principles on Information Integrity and support technologies and projects that strengthen public empowerment, avoid discriminatory targeting, and support the development of a more resilient information ecosystem.
- Fund independent, free and pluralistic media and partnerships with journalistic institutions so that reliable and accurate content can survive.
The report also offers a case study on “The Belém Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change is a result of the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, a mutli-stakeholder coalition co-led by the Government of Brazil, the UN and UNESCO.” The report describes the Declaration’s explicit call on the private sector to commit to information integrity measures as “a normative framework and a practical commitment mechanism– a signal from 20+ governments that transparent, human rights-respecting advertising practices are now a matter of international policy.”
Charlotte Scaddan, UN Senior Adviser on Information Integrity, said: “Advertising funds the systems that help shape what people see, trust and believe. Without swift action and guardrails, AI risks accelerating the breakdown of information ecosystem integrity. Advertisers have the power to help fix it.”
Harriet Kingaby, Conscious Advertising Network (CAN), said: “Brands are under pressure to move fast on AI, but doing so without guardrails risks undermining the very environments their marketing depends on. This is not about slowing innovation – it’s about making sure it works for business and society. This is a defining moment. Advertisers can either fund the problem or help build a more transparent, trustworthy and effective digital ecosystem.”
