Non-Intrusive Ads… for a Short While

[Brazil]

It'll be hard to rebuild any sort of trust from this point on, even with ad removal.

insane overreaction

 

[HolyZymurgist]

Welp the CSAM generator fan has logged their opinion.

because home-grown Japanese CSAM is a-okay, right?

 

[JVick]

because home-grown Japanese CSAM is a-okay, right?

Ho shit here we go

 

[KiraEllion]

What's been done cannot be undone, so now we can always look at it from the bright side, since this serves as an example of something that must not be repeated again in the future.

once again you assume the position.

without addressing why you thought this would be a good idea in the first place I don't care about the AI I care that the site was malware ridden

You intentionally hosted a link to a website that's gonna harm the majority of users computers (because no one is as tech literate as they think)

which means you didn't even vet the link before putting it up i clicked it in a "safe" environment as a test and it immediately tried to download shit onto my computer

Knock it off with this fake sincerity crap your not stupid enough to have not seen the backlash coming

 

[Angry_Panda]

Knock it off with this fake sincerity crap your not stupid enough to have not seen the backlash coming

your not stupid enough

your

 

[Bartolumiu]

once again you assume the position.

without addressing why you thought this would be a good idea in the first place I don't care about the AI I care that the site was malware ridden

You intentionally hosted a link to a website that's gonna harm the majority of users computers (because no one is as tech literate as they think)

which means you didn't even vet the link before putting it up i clicked it in a "safe" environment as a test and it immediately tried to download shit onto my computer

Knock it off with this fake sincerity crap your not stupid enough to have not seen the backlash coming

Are you sure it wasn't any weird stuff you already have on your device? Tested on multiple environments (physical devices and VMs with different OS versions and browsers) and didn't get any weird instant downloads...

 

[CapnAndy]

Thank you for pulling the ad

 

[KiraEllion]

Are you sure it wasn't any weird stuff you already have on your device? Tested on multiple environments (physical devices and VMs with different OS versions and browsers) and didn't get any weird instant downloads...

why would it be i stated i tested it in a safe environment that usually means either a blank slate computer or a simulated blank slate computer.

the former to be clear in my case.

 

[Bartolumiu]

why would it be i stated i tested it in a safe environment that usually means either a blank slate computer or a simulated blank slate computer.

the former to be clear in my case.

Fair enough, thanks for clarifying the testing environment. Just in case, I'm not doubting what you saw, just trying to pinpoint the source.
Since the destination was a "Web App" style site, what likely triggered on your clean slate was a PWA (Progressive Web App) installation prompt or a forced browser notification request. On a fresh browser, those scripts often look and act exactly like a file download initiation or a security intrusion (especially on Google Chrome or just Chromium based browsers for some reason).
Whether it was a literal payload or just aggressive browser-hijacking scripts, the result is the same: it’s garbage that degrades the user experience and looks unsafe, which is exactly why the ad campaign got pulled, so just so we're on the same page here, stuff like that 100% doesn't belong here.

 

[KingZantair]

I'm happy the ads were pulled. I'm hoping there'll be a further statement, possibly throwing someone under the bus as an explanation and apology, but I will continue to let ads (that aren't AI) be unblocked. I want to support mangadex in any way I can, but this is something that, without explanation, will halt me from giving monetary support. I know many users have already stated this one instance was enough to turn them away for good, or even that it was one in a series of mistakes, but I will remain optimistic. After all, the ads were up for just over a day, after both many people in this thread and in the one I made made their complaints and worries heard. I'm willing to give another chance.

 

[panzerkampfwagyu]

Now that I screwed up the holding of the 3333 post, still like the comment, I can finally give a comment on this.

Good that it was removed, but I do wonder how it could even get through without anyone saying "Wait a moment, isn't that going to piss off the community?" like, it does feel like there was a lack of sanity-checking involved.

Hope that future ads are going to be double-checked with a proper vetting process.

 

[Highorse]

Ah glad to see I wasn't hallucinating. I honestly don't mind the ads so long as they aren't for some AI slop

 

[jeezits]

Update / Clarification (2026-01-13)

I've received further information from management regarding the specifics of this campaign, and I want to provide a correction and some context:

1. First of all and to set the record straight, this campaign was actually a scheduled one-day experiment, which has now concluded naturally.
2. Furthermore, we've noted that the landing page for the ad did not align with the banner content initially whitelisted (specifically regarding content maturity). We will be much more vigilant about verifying that landing pages match the ads we approve moving forward.

A note on how you can help:
Obviously, the most direct way to avoid ads is to become a Supporter. Beyond just hiding ads for yourself, having a larger supporter base allows us the financial freedom to be infinitely more picky with the partners we accept and, with enough direct support, we can afford to reject questionable campaigns like this one outright.

The original post was fine. I'm specifically not quoting it (and I'm assuming the update isn't necessarily your thoughts on the matter).

The rest, here?

Is horseshit.

1. "One day experiment" has about as much believability as every video game publisher claiming the blatant AI background texture they got caught using was "placeholder".

2. AI gen literally exists to defraud people, and shady ass AI girlfriend apps are the platonic ideal of the whole scam. Being surprised that the content didn't match the ad is staggeringly gullible or a complete lie.

Full offense:

Get the stupid, lying AI pushing jerkoff who convinced people this was a good idea off the team.

They're going to keep trying shit like this, and they're going to fuck things up.

 

[Bramia]

The original post was fine. I'm specifically not quoting it (and I'm assuming the update isn't necessarily your thoughts on the matter).

The rest, here?

Is horseshit.

1. "One day experiment" has about as much believability as every video game publisher claiming the blatant AI background texture they got caught using was "placeholder".

2. AI gen literally exists to defraud people, and shady ass AI girlfriend apps are the platonic ideal of the whole scam. Being surprised that the content didn't match the ad is staggeringly gullible or a complete lie.

Full offense:

Get the stupid, lying AI pushing jerkoff who convinced people this was a good idea off the team.

They're going to keep trying shit like this, and they're going to fuck things up.

The only thing fucking things up are the upkeep costs. Rather than listening to the ramblings of a few people in the forums, I'd love to know the metrics of how many people visited the ads because they'd easily outnumber the complainers by several fold. That's the kind of demographic these websites have

 

[JVick]

The only thing fucking things up are the upkeep costs. Rather than listening to the ramblings of a few people in the forums, I'd love to know the metrics of how many people visited the ads because they'd easily outnumber the complainers by several fold. That's the kind of demographic these websites have

Let's all embrace the CP slop generator for the glorious 10 euros / month manna from our GoogleAds god.

But yeah, ultimately this is all useless. We're all here to shitpost during our 7th bathroom breaks at work. The AI ads will come back, people will literally ask for the death of the mangadex team again (some people legit scare me here) and the loop will continue. The only metric that matters is the money. I just hope it's enough so the website stays alive.

 

[jeezits]

The only thing fucking things up are the upkeep costs. Rather than listening to the ramblings of a few people in the forums, I'd love to know the metrics of how many people visited the ads because they'd easily outnumber the complainers by several fold. That's the kind of demographic these websites have

Oh for sure manga, a medium enjoyed by a huge percentage of people who make a living or have hobbies in creative fields are def gonna be into AI scam apps, yeah you got your finger on the pulse of this website my dude.

Cool self report though.

 

[panzerkampfwagyu]

Yeah, this experiment claim is very much a lie, even Jecro's dumb thing had more in common with an experiment, and he got permabanned for it.
Not to mention that I am pretty sure that the shitty AI ad was on for more than one day.
The person who decided that should get their power revoked.

 

[BestBoy]

I thought jecro got banned for accessing and misuse of MD data?

for more than one day

28 hours at least

 

[panzerkampfwagyu]

I thought jecro got banned for accessing and misuse of MD data?

Pretty sure that was suspected with his plugin, but the actual story was that the goon making the accusation lied about it, so I don't think that happened.

 

[BestBoy]

the goon making the accusation

I thought that was also jecro?