This is true even today. Ads are shady af and even the top link on Google is often a literal scam/virus. Ie for years if you looked up the most popular game client for runescape - runelite - the very first link was a fake version that stole your login info. They paid Google and Google said 'not my problem'. Not to even mention ads on other sites like Facebook. Even in the cases where an ad isnt a blatant scam or virus, ads are inherently dishonest by design and there is no consequence for using them to lie about your product.

Still shady and also useless. I don’t buy shit I see in ads because I don’t let them track me.

It’s better the industry just dies and the people go back to being psychiatrists.