The Västerviks newspaper, like most newspapers, has video reports on its website. Before the clips start, commercials roll, and this is where the unwanted ad appeared.
In the ad, which had no sender, propaganda against Hamas was set to dramatic music.
No human moderation
The person in charge of the newspaper was completely unaware when SVT called to ask questions. Shortly afterwards, the ad was blocked.
– It was dirt. It came in under the radar, says the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Olov Trysberg.
– It did not live up to our rules, it was one-sided. The problem was that the so-called progressive ad system has no prior moderation by a human, he continues.
VT is not the first web magazine to be hit by similar ads. In March told P3 that the fashion magazine Elle suffered a similar incident.