Sara Fischer: Harris campaign’s Google ads rewrite news headlines

August 13, 2024

Source: AXIOS

Written by: Sara Fischer

This piece is by WWSG exclusive thought leader, Sara Fischer.

The Harris campaign has been editing news headlines and descriptions within Google search ads that make it appear as if the Guardian, Reuters, CBS News and other major publishers are on her side, Axios has found.

Why it matters: It’s a common practice in the commercial advertising world that doesn’t violate Google’s policies, but the ads mimic real news results from Search closely enough that they have news outlets caught off guard.

According to Google’s ad transparency center, the Trump campaign isn’t running these types of ads, but this technique has been used by campaigns before.
The ads say that they are sponsored, but it’s not immediately clear that the text that accompanies real news links is written by the campaigns and not by the media publication itself.

What they’re saying: “While we understand why an organization might wish to align itself with the Guardian’s trusted brand, we need to ensure it is being used appropriately and with our permission. We’ll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice,” a Guardian spokesperson said.

Spokespeople for brands such as CNN, USA Today and NPR, whose links appeared in Harris for President ads, said they were unaware their brand was being featured this way.

Reality check: Google said the ads don’t violate its rules, but platforms have in the past wrestled with whether this type of format can spread misinformation.

Facebook banned the ability for advertisers to edit text from Instant Article news links in their ads in 2017, citing its “continuing efforts to stop the spread of misinformation and false news.”
Google argues that because ads on Search are prominently labeled as “Sponsored,” they’re “easily distinguishable from Search results.”
For years, a Google spokesperson said, “we’ve provided additional levels of transparency for election ads specifically.”

Between the lines: A source familiar with the Harris campaign’s ads team said the campaign buys search ads with news links to give voters searching for information about Vice President Harris more context.

The campaign has complied with all of Google’s rules, although a technical glitch in Google’s Ad Library made it appear as though some ads lacked the necessary disclosures Google requires when they ran. (A Google spokesperson confirmed the glitch and said it’s investigating what happened.)
“Election advertisers are required to complete an identity verification process and we prominently display in-ad disclosures that clearly show people who paid for the ad,” the spokesperson said.

Zoom in: Since Aug. 3, nearly a dozen news companies have been used in these types of search ads from the Harris campaign, Axios found.

Examples include The Independent UK, NPR, AP, The Guardian, USA Today, PBS, CNN, CBS News, Time and others, including local outlets like North Dakota radio station WDAY Radio.
The ads include links to real articles from the news outlets, but the headlines and supporting text have been altered to read as though the articles support the Harris campaign’s objectives.
For example, an ad that ran alongside an article from The Guardian shows a headline that reads “VP Harris Fights Abortion Bans – Harris Defends Repro Freedom” and then includes supporting text underneath the headline that reads, “VP Harris is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump’s abortion bans.”
An ad featuring a link to an NPR story reads, “Harris Will Lower Health Costs,” with supporting text that says, “Kamala Harris will lower the cost of high-quality affordable health care.”

The big picture: The political ad world has always been murky, but a lack of regulation in the digital world has put the onus on tech firms to decide what’s deceptive and what’s fair.

Ad-driven tech companies have to walk a fine line between transparency and efficiency. One of the reasons search ads are effective for advertisers is that they are embedded in line with actual search results in a very similar format.
Google believes its sponsored disclosures are enough to keep voters from being misled, but media companies whose brands are being associated with political messages in unexpected ways may feel differently.

The intrigue: The mainstream media industry is already fighting assertions of bias. These ads, even though they comply with Google’s rules, could leave media outlets further vulnerable to charges of partisanship.

“Some of these news organizations might not want to be positioned as promoting one campaign, and this implies that they have a bias towards that campaign, potentially,” said John Gable, co-founder and CEO of AllSides, a nonpartisan firm that rates media bias.

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