10
Loading video...
By Kaitlin Lewis
Night Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is modifying headlines on news articles within sponsored search advertisements on Google to appear as if those outlets are seemingly partial toward her presidential bid, an ad tactic that does not breach any policy but does raise questions for some.
The ads, which were first reported by Axios, include headlines and descriptions that mimic a real news article. Newsweek reviewed several of the advertisements through Google's ad transparency center. Some of the news outlets included in the advertisements include NPR, Reuters, The Guardian and the Associated Press.
Axios reported that the ad technique is often used in commercial advertising and that mimicking news search results does not violate Google's policies. In one example, which Harris' campaign bought to appear on Google from August 7 to August 13, the advertisement shows a link to Reuters with the headline, "Inflation Is Down." The description of the sponsored post reads, "Under the Biden-Harris Administration, 'The U.S. is winning the inflation fight.'"
Read More
Exclusive: Bernie Sanders on How Kamala Harris Can Win16 min read
Pro-Trump Official Could Face Years in Prison for Election Security Breach3 min read
Was Trump Replacement Jet Once Owned by Jeffrey Epstein? What Report Says3 min read
The search results display a small disclaimer that says it was "Paid for by Harris for President" and is labeled as "sponsored." A spokesperson for Google told Newsweek on Tuesday, "These ads are explicitly labeled as 'Sponsored' so that they're easily distinguishable from Search results and they also include 'paid for by' disclosures so it's clear to users who paid for them. It's fairly common for advertisers to link out to or cite external websites, including news sites, in their ads."
...
Google requires that all advertisers meet the platform's transparency requirements, which include completing an identity verification process and that ads display a disclosure showing who paid for the message.Still, some media professionals raised concerns about the tactic, claiming that it could reflect poorly on news outlets.
"Harris camp doing nothing wrong and Google, which is pretty strict about banning spammy ads, doesn't see it as a consumer harm," Sara Fischer, a reporter with Axios, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "News outlets just collateral damage in this weird ads tactic."
"Sounds like Harris is exploiting a weird Google defect ... to create the impression that certain news outlets are in the tank for her campaign," producer and College Fix editorial assistant Christopher White wrote on X.
A spokesperson for The Guardian told Axios that "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."
Newsweek on Tuesday reached out to Harris' campaign via email for comment.
Promoting advertisements that mimic a news article is not a new practice, although some sites have banned the tactic, claiming that such ads could mislead readers. Facebook banned advertisers from modifying news articles, descriptions and images in 2017 as part of its push at the time to halt the spread of false or misleading information, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
According to Google's ad transparency center, former President Donald Trump's reelection campaign has also purchased text advertisements this election cycle but that the format does not mimic news headlines. Instead, the ads include a link to President Joe Biden's campaign website or to the GOP-backed website, factcheckbiden.com. The last text ad purchased on Google by "Donald J. Trump for President 2024" ran from June 28 to June 30.
Harris' campaign has spent $2.1 million on 1,089 advertisements on Google and has concentrated its efforts on key battleground states. The state with the most amount of ads being shown is Pennsylvania, where Harris' team has spent $441,000. The next most-expensive states were Michigan ($309,000), Wisconsin ($298,000), North Carolina ($292,000), Georgia ($263,000) and Arizona ($233,000), according to Google's ad center.
Trump's campaign has spent $192,400 on nine Google ads. The largest amount was aimed at California, where the former president's team spent $19,100 on ads.
Update 08/13/24, 6:56 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional comment from Google.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines