A.I. it's NOT !

A good example of contextual advertising screwing up:

Just reading an online report of the Muslim pilgrimage deaths (remind me to never attend that pop festival)...a website called International Herald Tribune -Africa & Middle East edition.

Article Title:
Pilgrims search for relatives among stampede victims

at the foot of the article were four clickable ads chosen because of keywords that matched article content (third one is the worst):

ADVERTISER LINKS

Sprint Nextel i930 i860
Batt. chargers, holster, data cable Cheaper then ebay, free shipping
www.buynshop.com

Traffic Info
Find info and resources from all the leading search engines
www.dogpile.com

The Stampede Secret
Get More Targeted, Affluent Traffic 30 Days Risk Free, Just $97.00.
www.stampedesecret.com

Free Traffic Songs
Free Music Downloads! Get Your Favorite Songs Now. 100% Legal
www.EZ-Tracks.com

As a gesture of good will, I sent a report to the company supplying the ads...just so they won't get as much hate mail. This is why this type of software usuallyhas a built in set of 'stop' words that includes things like 'death, dead, prison, murder, etc..' and only PSA's appear in place of ads when those words are included in an article.

Follow-up: the ad serving co sent me a thanks email. Said more appropriate ads are on that page now. I have not looked.

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