Report: Harris Campaign Editing News Headlines in Google Ads

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • Axios reported this week that the Harris campaign has bought search ads on Google featuring news headlines and supporting texts from major publishers rewritten in her favor.[1]
  • The ads mimicking real news results include links to articles from news outlets such as the Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, The Guardian, NPR, Reuters and Time Magazine.[2]
  • A Google spokesperson said this practice — allegedly 'fairly common' among advertisers — doesn't violate its policies, as 'sponsored' and 'paid for by' banners enable the ads to be 'easily' distinguished from search results.[3]
  • However, media outlets that had their content altered claimed to be unaware of the practice, and WDAY Radio, based in North Dakota, is reportedly considering legal action against Google and the Harris campaign.[4]
  • In 2017, Facebook banned ads with edited headlines as part of a crackdown on misinformation, alleging that the practice had 'been abused to post false news' amid concerns that they could deepen distrust in the media.[5]
  • Google's ad transparency center shows that the Harris campaign has spent more than $2M on over a thousand Google advertisements against nearly $192K from the Trump campaign.[6]

Sources: [1]Axios, [2]FOX News, [3]New York Post, [4]Daily Caller, [5]USA Today and [6]Newsweek.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by The New Republic. Though this practice is common and in accordance with Google policies, it's hard to understand why the Harris campaign has decided to adopt such a risky strategy given the positive coverage she has received since entering the presidential race. Regardless of whether this actually proves advantageous for her, such a process could further affect trust in the media.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by National Review. It seems that Kamala Harris isn't satisfied with the assistance of mainstream media to produce positive impressions on voters, so her team has resorted to rewriting past headlines in her favor and invoking a media brand in promoted ads. Democrats have acted in contempt of the press, and it's now up to journalists to show they still have principles left.

Predictions