Graphic Israeli Government Ads for Gaza Conflict Appear in Popular Mobile Games

A disturbing advertisement from the Israeli government, featuring footage of the Gaza conflict, has been spotted in several mobile games, including Angry Birds. According to an investigation by Reuters, six instances of the ad, which includes videos of explosions and rocket attacks, have been found in mobile games in various countries, including the UK, France, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. The ad has been reported to appear in games like Angry Birds, Stack, Subway Surfers, Alice's Mergeland, and Balls'n Ropes. The developers of these games have been contacted for further clarification. Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, confirmed that the ads were mistakenly allowed to run and are now being manually blocked. The company did not disclose which of its ad partners supplied the ad. Reuters reached out to over 40 ad firms listed by Rovio, but only 12 responded, with Amazon, Index Exchange, and Pinterest denying responsibility for the ad's appearance in the game. The head of digital at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the advertisement was promoted by the government but had no knowledge of how it ended up in mobile games. He added that officials had instructed advertisers to prevent the ad from being seen by people under 18. The ministry had paid for the ads to run through companies like Tabloola and Outbrain, as well as internet platforms such as Google and X, formerly known as Twitter. Google confirmed running over 90 ads for the ministry but declined to disclose their locations. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority noted that while they are not currently investigating the issue, graphic images and footage should be carefully targeted away from under-18s.