The CCDH, focusing exclusively on U.S.-based users, found that major oil and gas companies including BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil have bought ads on Google searches in response to questions like "eco-friendly companies", "net zero" and "how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?"It’s also a technique used by certain companies to distract consumers from the fact that their business model and activities actually do a lot of environmental harm and damage," according to international environmental law charity ClientEarth, whose definition the report uses.The CCDH used data analytics tool Semrush, compiling a dataset of over 30,000 Google Search ads placed on 61,216 separate search queries by oil companies between Sept. 1, 2020 and Aug. 31, 2022.The result of this spending is evident in Google searches for "eco-friendly companies", for instance, which would provide an ad for one of the Big Oil companies sitting at the top of Google search rankings.However, it has "robust ad policies that expressly prohibit ads/advertisers from using misrepresentation"; in other words, it would prohibit advertisers "fraudulently claiming" that their products or services enforce green practices or policies."