Why was my ad rejected?

1. Initial Moderation Rejection

Every creative submitted to MGID goes through an initial moderation review before it can go live. This is the first checkpoint, and it's where the majority of rejections happen.

During this stage, your creative (image, headline, landing page, or targeting) is checked against our advertising policies and content guidelines Common reasons for rejection at this stage include:

Misleading or Deceptive Content

Misleading or clickbait claims in the headline or image
False endorsements -implying a celebrity, public figure, or brand endorses the product without authorization
Fake testimonials or fake stories-invented reviews, before/after results, fake "real user" stories
Fake UI elements -fake play buttons, fake close ("X") buttons, fake progress bars, fake chat/notification pop-ups
Insufficient information- landing page/creative lacks enough detail (pricing, terms, product details)
Non-transparent engagement practices -disguising an ad as a system message, article, or notification

Trust, Legal & Compliance

Copyright infringement
Trademark infringement — unauthorized use of brand names/logos
Deepfakes - AI-manipulated images/video/audio of real people
Absence of / obstructive user consent -data collection, subscriptions, downloads without clear consent
Prohibited or restricted content categories
Offers from the prohibited list
Practices from the prohibited list
Missing disclaimers required for certain verticals

Technical & Security

Unsafe/malicious scripts
Redirects -auto-redirects without user action, or redirect chains hiding the final destination
Cloaking -showing different content to moderators vs. real users
Security violations — malware, phishing, deceptive pop-ups, browser exploits

Quality & Presentation

Low-quality images or landing pages that don't match the ad
Broken or non-functional landing pages
Sensational or shock content
Excessive urgency tactics- fake countdown timers, fake scarcity/limited stock claims

What to do: Check the rejection reason listed in your dashboard, review it against our creative approval guidelines and\or policies and resubmit a corrected version. If the reason isn't clear, reach out to your account manager or support -we're happy to walk through it with you.

2. Compliance Policy Change

Sometimes our compliance policies get updated- new regulations, new restrictions or refined requirements for certain verticals. When this happens, we don't switch off affected creatives overnight. Instead, we keep them active during a transition period, giving you time to review the change and bring your creatives up to date before enforcement kicks in.

During this period:

You'll receive advance notice explaining exactly what changed and why
Your existing creatives stay live and continue running as usual
You get a clear deadline to make the necessary updates before the new policy takes full effect

We're here to help. If a policy change affects your active campaigns, don't hesitate to reach out to support - our team can help you rework your creatives to stay compliant. You can also use our AI creative tools for images, for texts or for editing to quickly generate updated versions that meet the new requirements, saving you time on manual edits.

3. Approval Revoke

This is different from a standard rejection. An approval revoke happens when a creative that was already approved gets flagged for a second look - usually within 24 hours of initial approval - because it requires additional verification or review.

This can happen for a few reasons:

The initial review missed something that a deeper check caught
The creative was flagged by an automated system for manual re-verification
Additional documentation (certifications, licenses, disclaimers) is needed for the vertical

In some cases, this secondary review confirms the creative is fine and it stays live. In other cases, it results in a rejection after the fact -which is why you might see a creative go from "approved" to "rejected" without your changing anything.

What to do: If your creative gets revoked, check your dashboard for the specific reason and any requested documentation. Submitting the requested materials promptly and sending to moderation once again is usually the fastest way to get it re-approved

4. Cloaking

Cloaking is one of the most serious rejection reasons and it's treated differently from a standard content issue. Cloaking happens when a creative or landing page shows different content to our moderation system than to real users- for example, a compliant page is shown during review, while visitors are redirected to a different (often prohibited) offer once the ad is live.

Because cloaking is designed specifically to bypass moderation, it's treated as a policy violation rather than a simple content mistake. Detected cloaking can lead to:

Immediate rejection or suspension of the creative
Campaign-level or account-level review
Restrictions on future submissions, depending on severity
Account blocking

What to do: Make sure your landing page shows identical content to all visitors, including our moderation crawlers no IP-based, device-based or referrer-based redirects that differ from what a real user sees. If you believe your ad was flagged in error (for example, due to A/B testing or dynamic content), contact your account manager or support with details so we can review the case. See our cloaking policy explained and secuity check for the full technical breakdown.

5. Security Violation

This category covers creatives or landing pages that pose a direct risk to users' devices or data. It's the strictest rejection type, because it involves user safety rather than just policy compliance. Examples include:

Malware, auto-downloads or scripts that execute without user consent
Phishing pages designed to steal personal or payment information
Deceptive pop-ups, fake system alerts, or forced redirects
Landing pages that exploit browser vulnerabilities

What to do: Security violations are not eligible for a simple resubmission-the creative and landing page need to be fully audited and cleaned before reapplying. If you believe this was flagged incorrectly (e.g., a third-party script or plugin caused an unintended issue) or you promtly fixed the issue - try once again. Repeated security violations can result in account-level restrictions, so it's worth reviewing our security guidelines for advertisers before resubmitting.

Quick Reference

Scenario	When it happens	What it means
Initial Moderation Rejection	Before the ad goes live	Creative didn't meet guidelines on first review
Compliance Policy Change	After policies are updated at a time determined by the reason	Previously approved creatives need adjustment due to regulations changes. Prior notice, often with transition period.
Approval Revoke	Within 24h of approval	Additional review reversed the initial decision
Cloaking	Detected during or after review	Different content shown to moderators vs. users, prohibited practices are hidden in a funnel to bypass moderation, landing pages or offers are substituted after ad approval, etc
Security Violation	Detected during or after review	Creative/landing page poses a risk to user safety

Still need help?

If you're unsure why your creative was rejected or revoked, sales support team and account managers are ready to help -whether that means clarifying a policy, reviewing your creative together or pointing you toward our AI tools to speed up the fix. Don't hesitate to reach out.

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Why was my ad rejected?

Getting a rejection notice can be frustrating, especially when you're not sure why it happened. The good news: most rejections fall into a few clear categories, and understanding which one applies to your case makes it much easier to fix. Here's a breakdown of the most common scenarios.