Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) has started showing less than family-friendly ads at the end of its web videos.
“Content Warning: Descend to the labyrinth’s depths and face shocking experiences. Due to shocking content, it is hidden,” a recent advertisement at the end of a video on CSPAN.org read. It displayed an anime-style image of a woman with scantily clad and exaggerated female appendages looking at the camera.
The Dallas Express first observed this advertisement at the end of a 1997 video of former Texas First Lady Nellie Connally reading her diary from the days immediately surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in the C-SPAN archive.
It is unclear how many people have seen this ad and how many videos it has appeared on. However, it raises questions about whether this material appears in front of children.
C-SPAN is a common educational resource used in many classrooms. It is one of the few free resources for finding unedited and unmoderated historical footage. C-SPAN’s website reinforces that it is a resource for children and students, with pages such as “C-SPAN Classroom.”
C-SPAN was created in 1979, according to its website. The channel is known for its gavel-to-gavel televising of the official proceedings of the United States federal government. It also covers other events of significance to public affairs, such as presidential campaign speeches and historical discussions.
“At C-SPAN, we believe an informed citizenry is vital for democracy. For over 40 years, we’ve provided bipartisan, unfiltered political coverage, funded by cable and satellite partners without a dime of government funding,” the non-profit’s website says of its financial support.
While C-SPAN does not use traditional advertising during television and radio broadcasts, the website has brief ads at the beginning of streamed videos and banners.
Sexually themed anime advertising has become an increasingly frequent issue in recent years.
DX reported that an advertisement for illustrated pornography that depicted acts of incest and potentially underage sex encounters appeared before at least 5.9 million X (formerly Twitter) users in 2024.
On its website, C-SPAN notes: “The ads that appear on C-SPAN.org are from a Google service that attempts to present ads relevant to your interests. C-SPAN is paid a fee when ads are viewed on the website, but does not endorse or recommend the companies, organizations, products and/or services presented in the ads. While we don’t choose which ads you see, we are very mindful of C-SPAN’s reputation as a neutral and trusted news source and for now restrict certain categories, including politics-, policy- or cause-related advertising on all platforms. You can learn more about the technology behind the ads and how you can control the information collected by Google here.”
DX reached out to C-SPAN for comment, but the outlet had not responded by the time of publication.