The Kamala Harris Google ad controversy explained

Kamala Harris’s campaign has been editing headlines and story descriptions from news outlets within Google search ads to appear favorable to the vice president, Axios reported this week. Now former President Donald Trump is calling out Google and the Harris campaign for the practice. 

Here’s your quick explainer on the Harris ad controversy:

What is the Harris campaign doing with Google ads?

Harris’s campaign edited the news headlines and accompanying descriptions that appear as part of Google search ads so that it seems certain outlets are on her side. Axios found nearly a dozen news companies being used in these types of search ads since August 3. 

Is this legal?

Yes, this is a legal practice and it doesn’t violate Google’s policies. In fact, the tactic has been used by previous campaigns. But some experts say it presents ethical concerns, according to USA Today. The ads include a “Sponsored” tag, but voters may not realize that the text that accompanies the ads is written by the campaign and not by the news outlets. 

For example, an ad running alongside an article from the Associated Press showed an altered headline that said “VP Harris’s Economic Vision – Lower Costs And Higher Wages.” The description underneath, which is meant to share a few sentences about the story, said, “A future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead.” (The Harris campaign didn’t respond to Fast Company’s request for comment.)

What does Google say? 

“These ads are explicitly labeled as ‘Sponsored’ so that they’re easily distinguishable from Search results and they also include ‘Paid for by’ disclosures so it’s clear to users who paid for them,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “It’s fairly common for advertisers to link out to or cite external websites, including news sites, in their ads.”

But platforms have grappled with how to deal with these types of ads. Facebook banned advertisers from editing text from similar ads linking to news outlets in 2017, citing efforts to stop the spread of fake news and misinformation. 

So how is Trump involved?

The Trump campaign isn’t running these types of ads, Axios reported. But the former president is using the Axios report to criticize the Harris campaign and Google. “Wow! Google and the Harris Campaign are manipulating stories. Is this legal?” Trump posted on social media. The thing is, members of the Harris campaign aren’t changing the stories. They’re altering the way the stories appear on Google search, and at the end of the day this is a common practice.

Trump isn’t running these ads right now, but other high-profile Republicans have in the past, according to Google’s Political Ads Transparency Center. Those include Brian Kemp for Governor, Rodney Davis for Congress, the short-lived Marsha Blackburn for Senate campaign, and Mike Braun for Indiana.

How are news outlets responding?

Publishers appear to have been unaware that their brands were showing up in ads. “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,” a Guardian spokesperson told Axios. 

An Associated Press spokesperson told USA Today that the news outlet “was neither aware of this practice nor would we allow these to run on our website.”

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