Panic over "brand safety" is a waste of energy

Meta has announced a scaling back of its moderation policies: ditching third-party fact-checkers, reducing content demotions, and taking a more “hands-off” approach to political content. Cue the panic.

"Brand safety experts" are now clutching their pearls, warning that ad placements next to controversial content could destroy brand trust, spark boycotts, or worse.

But here’s the reality: consumers don’t judge brands based on where they show up. They judge based on what those brands say and do.

This isn’t a new dilemma: traditional media has had adjacency “issues” forever.

Billboards next to strip clubs. Luxury watch ads in papers running financial scandals. Your brand’s lovingly crafted TV spot sandwiched between war footage and political takedowns.

My personal favourite? A McDonalds billboard alongside a diabetes ad (below):

Somehow, none of that brought the advertising industry to a halt.

The difference now is that digital makes adjacency feel more granular, more visible, more “trackable.” But that doesn’t mean it’s more consequential.

Most people scrolling Instagram or Facebook aren’t drawing a line between the weird meme they just saw and the sponsored post beneath it. They understand how algorithms work. They know your ad didn’t personally endorse the post above it.

You don’t lose trust because your banner ad appeared next to a spicy meme. You lose trust because you treated your customers like idiots. Or ran a tone-deaf campaign. Or ducked a hard question. Or stood for nothing at all.

Everyone knows ads are served algorithmically.

The average person isn’t scrolling Instagram, pausing mid-story, and thinking, “Wait, my bank’s ad appeared under a conspiracy theory. Time to change accounts.” They’re moving on in half a second.

The real risk isn’t adjacency. It’s irrelevance.

Because while you’re busy reviewing screenshots and writing escalation memos, your competitors are saying something that actually matters. They’re picking a fight, offering a point of view, making people laugh, or just being useful. And no one cares what post they appeared under.

So by all means, keep an eye on placements. Avoid actual harm. But stop pretending that safety comes from silence or sanitisation. It comes from clarity, confidence, and having something worth saying.

In other words: if you’re worried about where your ads show up, you’ve already missed the point.