Amid concerns about AI, ‘deep fakes,’ and ‘disinformation,’ the latest questionable tactic in the U.S. presidential campaign has largely flown under the radar—until now.
The Kamala Harris campaign has edited the headlines of Google Search ads they have bought, making it appear as if major news outlets are supporting her, the news outlet Axios has revealed.
About a dozen media companies have been used by the campaign in this way. While the links connect to legitimate news articles, the headlines and taglines have been rewritten in partisan language celebrating the Democrats’ contender, making it appear as if the media outlets support the Harris presidential bid. An example, using an article from The Independent, looks like this:
Other media outlets whose work has been used in this way include The Guardian, AP, and CNN.
The ads are labeled “Sponsored” and “Paid for by Harris for President Presidential Campaign”, but it is nowhere clarified that the text in the ads is written by the campaign—not by the news organization the ad links to.
Despite Google telling Axios “ the ads are “easily distinguishable from Search results,” their appearance is similar enough to normal search results that they can easily be mistaken for such. The advertising method does not violate Google’s policies. “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 spokesman said.
The Trump campaign is not using this type of advertising, Google said.
Most news outlets were unaware their articles were being used in this way. A representative for the Guardian told Axios:
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.
This certainly won’t help establishment media in a climate where their credibility, integrity, and bias is already being questioned.
