Marketers have been warned about the dangers of placing their content alongside controversial content following a 55% rise in hate speech in the run up to the election.

New data from DoubleVerify’s Election Task Force revealed there was a significant rise in the rate of inflammatory politics and news (IPN) in the content it measured since former prime minister Rishi Sunak announced the early election on 22 May.

Double Verify also found that 61% of marketers indicated that they are at least somewhat concerned about navigating political news cycles in 2024, according to Double Verify.

Additionally, more than two-thirds (67%) of consumers said they would be likely to stop using a brand or product that is advertised beside hateful comment.

The election-fuelled spikes came despite the fact that the IPN rate dropped 38% in the first five months of 2024, compared with last year. Moreover, measures of high risk hate speech (HRHS) were down by 71% in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year.

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Other events that led to an increase in hate speech recently have included the Israel-Hamas war, the Partygate scandal, and the Conservative leadership contest that led to Liz Truss’s time in government, which saw a 26% spike in IPN according to Double Verify.

“These trends potentially impact advertisers, whose brand reputation and campaign performance can be negatively affected by poor alignment between ads and content,” said DoubleVerify CMO Dan Slivjanovski.

“We are committed to empowering advertisers with the insights and tools they need to make informed decisions – safeguarding their brand equity and fostering a high-performing digital ecosystem based on transparency and trust.”