The Kamala Harris campaign team has reportedly been creating fake news headlines attributed to major new outlets, using the altered content in Google ads to make it seem like media sources are giving her much more positive coverage. This revelation, first reported by Axios, has drawn condemnation and concern from nearly a dozen news sources swept up in the ad campaign—and yet this common strategy does not violate Google’s policies.
According to Axios, the ads from the Harris campaign closely mimic real news results from a Google search, but feature headlines and excerpts concocted by Harris staffers. Links to the actual news stories make it seem as if the text above is attributed to the outlet itself, with only a small “sponsored” label setting the link apart from the real news.
Per Axios:
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.”
Outlets that have been linked in these ads include the Independent, NPR, AP, The Guardian, USA Today, PBS, CNN, CBS News, Time, and others, including local outlets like North Dakota radio station WDAY Radio.
“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,” a Guardian spokesperson said. “We’ll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice.”
According to Google, ads like this do not violate platform guidelines because the clear “sponsored” tag should be sufficient to help users tell the difference.
Google’s ad transparency center says that the Trump campaign is not running these kinds of ads, though this technique has been used by other campaigns in the past.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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