Research

We measure the economic incentives that reward harmful content across the internet, whether that is money earned from advertising, merchandising, donations or crypto. Financial transparency is foundational to building a safer, more accountable digital ecosystem.

Browse our latest reports to learn more.

Policy

GDI aims to establish the global benchmark in analysing the monetisation strategies and revenue models that enable harmful online content, driving evidence-based regulatory action across platforms and media types. To achieve this, GDI works to strengthen regulatory enforcement by documenting harmful content monetisation patterns, estimating the financial scale of harmful content economies, and identifying regulatory and enforcement deficiencies.

Disinformation thrives when the platforms' engagement-based algorithms lack independent oversight. Voluntary commitments from platforms and advertisers have proven insufficient; lasting change requires enforceable frameworks that embed transparency, independent oversight, and clear consequences into the fabric of the digital advertising ecosystem. GDI engages with regulators to ensure that civil society expertise and technical evidence translate into policy mechanisms with real teeth.

In the UK, GDI has advised Ofcom on the Online Safety Act, advocating for comprehensive systemic risk cataloguing to curb disinformation monetisation.

At the EU level, GDI works closely with partner organisations to ensure effective implementation of the Digital Services Act's core guidelines. GDI is also a signatory to the EU Code of Conduct on Disinformation, with specific contributions to ad transparency and reducing the monetisation of disinformation.

Browse our latest policy publications to learn more.