Published:
14 ago 2024 09:33 GMT
While some sites have already banned this method of advertising, claiming it spreads misinformation, Google says that since search ads carry the ‘Sponsored’ label, they are “easily distinguishable.”
US presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ team is manipulating news headlines to create an illusory image of support for her campaign, informa Axios.
The outlet explains that the Republican campaign has been editing news headlines and descriptions within Google search ads to make it appear that The Guardian, Reuters, CBS News and other major media outlets are on her side. “It is a common practice in the world of commercial advertising that doesn’t violate Google’s policies, although the ads mimic real news search results closely enough to catch news outlets off guard,” Axios notes.
How does it work?
The ad links to actual media articles, though the headlines and accompanying text have been altered to make it appear that the materials support Harris’s campaign goals. For example, a Reuters article that simply said “Inflation is down” appeared with the added description: “Under the Biden-Harris Administration“The US is winning the fight against inflation.”
According to Google’s Ad Transparency Center, Trump’s campaign does not use these types of ads. Although the links indicate that they are sponsored, it is not clear that the accompanying text is written by the campaign teams and not by the media outlets themselves, Axios explains.
“While we understand why an organisation might want to use The Guardian trust mark, we need to ensure that it is used appropriately and with our permission“We will be contacting Google to learn more about this practice,” a Guardian spokesperson said.
Representatives of media outlets such as CNN, USA Today and NPR, which were referenced in the campaign ads, said they were not aware of their brand being used in this way. Although some sites have already banned this method of advertising, claiming it is spread of disinformationGoogle states that because search ads are labeled ‘Sponsored’, they are “easily distinguishable from search results.”
