Google outlines how it supports those affected by Ukraine invasion

Fight misinformation and help keep users safe online.

What you need to know

• Google’s European team outlines its response to the Ukrainian invasion.
• Google said it had beefed up security measures in Ukraine to guard against online threats.
• YouTube is showing content from trusted news sources and removing videos and ads that promote misinformation.
• Google also offered $2 million in donation ads to help get resources.

Amid the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the war in Ukraine, Google’s European team has outlined ways it can help keep users and employees safe.

The company released a series of tweets Friday highlighting the various steps it has taken to provide accurate information and help prevent cyberattacks.

Our threat intelligence team continues to monitor and disrupt disinformation campaigns, hacking attacks, and financially motivated abuse, and is working with other companies and relevant government agencies to address these threats.

— Google Europe (@googleeurope) February 25, 2022

Google “added account security protection for people in the region,” with features like the Advanced Protection Program that users can enable to help protect their information from cyber threats.

Additional protections are implemented including Google Safe Browsing, Project Shield and VirusTotal to analyze and protect against malware, phishing and DDoS attacks.

Google has also directed its efforts to combat misinformation surrounding the Ukraine incident by “highlighting videos from trusted news sources,” removing videos that violate company policies, and blocking certain ads. According to Google, it has removed hundreds of thousands of videos in the past few days.

To support those who may have been affected by the incident, Google has launched an employee donation drive that will help various organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In addition to offering $2 million in donation ads to help those affected find the resources they need, Google will match employee contributions through Google.org.

Just a day earlier, Google employees in Ukraine were reportedly told in a memo to “shelter in place” and “restrict all movement.”