Kamala Harris’ campaign wants Americans to think that major news organizations are publishing mostly positive articles about her relatively new candidacy.
The vice president’s team manipulates headlines and article descriptions in Google search ads, making it appear as if media outlets like Reuters, CBS News and CNN are supporting her presidency. according to an analysis by Axios.
According to Google’s Ad Transparency Center, these types of ads are not running in Donald Trump’s campaign.
While it technically doesn’t violate the search engine’s policies and they are marked as “sponsored,” some platforms are concerned whether this format could spread disinformation.
The move is apparently an attempt to generate even more positive headlines and continue the “honeymoon” phase that Republicans say Harris is experiencing after taking over as President Joe Biden’s candidate.
Meanwhile, Harris has yet to give an interview or hold a press conference since entering the race 24 days ago.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign manipulates headlines and pays to place them prominently in Google search results, causing confusion among people who can’t distinguish these ads from real news articles.
Outrage erupted after Axios’ latest reporting. A pro-MAGA account wrote, “Holy jokes, Kamala is now editing headlines in her ads in an attempt to rewrite history — and she’s not even getting permission from the media.”
“There is no level they won’t stoop to,” added the X user, who claimed Harris inherited “Marxist principles” from her Jamaican-American father.
A source familiar with the Democratic campaign told Axios that they are buying search ads with news links to provide more context to voters looking for information about the vice president.
The tactic attempts to mimic real news results and pay to have them prominently placed in search results. And the campaign has gone so well that even the news media has been surprised.
“While we understand why an organization would want to associate itself with The Guardian’s trusted brand, we must ensure it is used appropriately and with our permission,” a Guardian spokesperson told Axios.
“We will contact Google for more information about this practice.”
CNN, USA Today and NPR, whose links appeared in the Harris for President ads, said they were unaware their brands were being presented in this way.
The campaign also targeted the editing of headlines from networks including CNN, USA Today and NPR. Spokespeople for the three news organizations said they were not aware of the branding used in the ads.
Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. She has yet to participate in an interview or press conference since being nominated last month
“Kamala Harris campaign CLOSED amid creeping manipulation of headlines in Google search results,” wrote one pro-Trump influencer on X.
“Is there anything they don’t lie or cheat about?” the user added.
It is not immediately clear to users that the text in real news links was written by the campaign and not by the media company in question.
In 2017, Facebook banned the ability for advertisers to edit the text of news links in their ads. The social media site said the move was part of its “ongoing efforts to stop the spread of misinformation and false news.”
Google claims that ads are easily distinguishable from search results because they clearly say “sponsored.”