Kamala Harris' campaign re-wrote news headlines so major publishers appear to be on HER side
- It's unclear whether users can distinguish the ads from real news articles
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Kamala Harris' campaign wants Americans to think major news outlets are publishing overwhelming positive articles about her relatively new candidacy.
The vice president's team is manipulating headlines and article descriptions within Google search ads that make it appear outlets like Reuters, CBS News and CNN back her presidency, an analysis by Axios reveals.
Donald Trump's campaign isn't running these types of ads, according to Google's ad transparency center.
While it doesn't technically violate the search engine's policies and are marked as 'sponsored,' some platforms have questioned whether this format can spread misinformation.
The move is an apparent effort to stoke even more positive headlines and continue the 'honeymoon' phase Republicans claim Harris is seeing after taking over President Joe Biden's bid.
Meanwhile, since entering the race 24 days ago, Harris has still not participated in an interview or held a press conference.
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is manipulating headlines and paying to place them prominently on Google search results – causing confusion among those who might not distinguish theses ads from real news articles
Outrage ensued following the latest reporting from Axios, with a pro-MAGA account writing: 'Holy smokes Kamala is now editing news headlines in her ads in an effort to rewrite history -- and she's not even getting approval from the outlets.'
'There's no level they won't stoop to,' the X user added, claiming Harris has 'Marxist principles' instilled by her Jamaican-American father.
A source familiar with the Democrat's campaign ads team told Axios that they buys search ads with news links to give voters searching for information about the vice president more context.
The tactic seeks to mimic real news results and pay for them to be placed prominently in search results. And the campaign has done so well that even the news outlets have been caught off guard.
'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 spokesperson for The Guardian said to Axios.
'We'll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice.'
CNN, USA Today and NPR, whose links appeared in Harris for President ads, said they were unaware their brand was being featured this way.
The campaign's targets also included editing headlines from networks like CNN, USA Today and NPR. Spokespeople for the three news outlets say they were not aware of the branding being used in ads.
Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. She has still not participated in an interview or press conference since becoming the nominee last month
'Kamala Harris Campaign BUSTED Silently Manipulating News Headlines in Google Search Results,' a pro-Trump influencer wrote on X.
'Is there anything they don't lie or cheat on?' the user added.
It's not immediately clear to users that the text accompanying real news links is written by the campaign and not the media publication in question.
Facebook in 2017 banned the ability for advertisers to edit text from news links in their ads. The social media website claimed the move was part of its 'continuing efforts to stop the spread of misinformation and false news.'
Google argues that because there is a prominent 'sponsored' label on ads, they are 'easily distinguishable from Search results.'
