{"id":2324848,"date":"2024-08-15T05:22:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T09:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-using-google-search-ads-to-falsify-headlines-beyond-harris-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-15T05:29:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T09:29:48","slug":"democrats-using-google-search-ads-to-falsify-headlines-beyond-harris-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-using-google-search-ads-to-falsify-headlines-beyond-harris-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats using Google search ads to falsify headlines beyond Harris &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-using-google-search-ads-to-falsify-headlines-beyond-harris-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2324848&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A \u2062recent\u2063 analysis by the *Washington\u200b Examiner* \u200creveals that Democratic Senate candidates and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) \u2064have been utilizing Google Search ads to \u2063manipulate news headlines and descriptions to mislead voters. Notably, the campaigns of Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have employed this tactic against their Republican opponents by promoting \u2064legitimate news articles but \u2063altering \u2063the headlines and descriptions to present their opponents in a negative light.<\/p>\n<p>The ads have been targeted at key races, with Slotkin&#8217;s campaign creating misleading headlines about her \u2064rival Mike Rogers, stating &#8220;Mike Rogers Works for Himself,&#8221;\u200b and including dubious\u200c claims about his dealings \u200dwith Chinese tech companies. This follows the Rogers campaign\u2019s legal action against similar accusations made in TV ads. Schiff&#8217;s campaign has \u2064also been reported to \u2064have altered headlines to\u200c downplay his Democratic competition and enhance his position in the California race.<\/p>\n<p>The DSCC has modified Google ads related to Social\u2062 Security in an attempt to warn voters about supposed threats \u200dposed by Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Rick\u200b Scott. While these ads are disclosed as sponsored content, \u2062critics argue the tactic\u2063 is deceptive and undermines informed electoral decision-making. The campaigns have defended their actions, claiming they simply aim to highlight their opponents\u2019\u200c political records. this strategy \u2062highlights the \u200bcontentious and often manipulative nature of\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/facebook-temporarily-bans-ads-for-weapons-accessories-ahead-of-inauguration-day\/\" title=\"Facebook Temporarily Bans Ads for Weapons Accessories Ahead of Inauguration Day\">political advertising<\/a> in the current \u200celectoral landscape.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Democrats using Google search ads to falsify news headlines extends past Harris campaign<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1709594\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The campaigns of two Democratic candidates for Senate and the campaign arm of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3116859\/wisconsin-senate-primary-baldwin-hovde\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Senate Democrats\">Senate Democrats<\/a> have used Google Search ads in the past year to manipulate news headlines and article descriptions presented to internet users.<\/p>\n<p>A <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> analysis of Google&rsquo;s Ad Transparency Center reveals the Senate campaigns of Reps. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/live-blog-posts\/battle-set-key-michigan-senate-seat-elissa-slotkin-mike-rogers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Elissa Slotkin\">Elissa Slotkin<\/a> (D-MI) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/adam-schiff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Adam Schiff\">Adam Schiff<\/a> (D-CA) used the tactic this year against their GOP opponents, promoting real news links but with previews displaying alternate headlines and subtexts crafted by the campaigns. <\/p>\n<p>The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also deployed the strategy several times last year against Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL), both of whom are up for reelection this year.<\/p>\n<p>The approach has been used heavily by the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, which this month has taken out Google Search ads on stories from nearly a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/08\/13\/harris-campaign-google-poltical-ads-news-publishers?utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/superspreader-slew-of-journalists-who-attended-swanky-d-c-dinner-test-positive-for-covid-19\/\" title=\"Superspreader: Slew Of Journalists Who Attended Swanky D.C. Dinner Test Positive For COVID-19\">dozen news outlets<\/a><\/a> but rewritten the headlines and descriptions within the ad so it appears more favorable to Harris.<\/p>\n<p>Slotkin&rsquo;s campaign took out a Google <a href=\"https:\/\/adstransparency.google.com\/advertiser\/AR04365650534862946305\/creative\/CR10934323145988898817?region=US&amp;topic=political&amp;platform=SEARCH\">Search ad<\/a> this week in battleground Michigan to an article from the <em>Heartland Signal<\/em>, a left-leaning outlet tied to progressive Chicago radio station WCPT 820AM. The campaign&rsquo;s ad targeted her rival, former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI), with the fictitious headline &ldquo;Mike Rogers Works for Himself.&rdquo; The description, which the campaign also wrote, read, &ldquo;Mike Rogers cashed in on his DC connections, helping Chinese tech companies across the US.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Rogers campaign last week, prior to the Google Search ad, sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3116735\/mike-rogers-sends-cease-desist-letter-elissa-slotkin-ad\/\">cease-and-desist letters<\/a> to TV stations airing a Slotkin ad making similar claims, which the Republican&rsquo;s campaign has denied. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/herschel-walker-offers-to-pay-rent-for-anyone-facing-eviction-by-raphael-warnocks-church\/\" title=\"Herschel Walker Offers To Pay Rent for Anyone Facing Eviction by Raphael Warnock\u2019s Church\">closely watched race<\/a> is a &ldquo;toss-up&rdquo; that could determine Senate control.<\/p>\n<p>Slotkin&rsquo;s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, the Rogers campaign accused Slotkin of a &ldquo;desperate attempt to gaslight Michiganders.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Slotkin needs fake headlines because her actual record is indefensible; Selling out Michigan workers to the Chinese, opening our border to drugs and violent crime, and raising the cost of gas and groceries on families living paycheck to paycheck,&rdquo; said Rogers communications director Chris Gustafson. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really no surprise she&rsquo;s continuing her lies and altering headlines in a desperate attempt to gaslight Michiganders, but they won&rsquo;t be fooled by her DC values.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Schiff, who&rsquo;s facing Republican and former baseball star Steve Garvey in deep-blue California, ran a<a href=\"https:\/\/adstransparency.google.com\/advertiser\/AR17759021746926649345\/creative\/CR13405294247435829249?region=US&amp;topic=political&amp;platform=SEARCH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> Google Search ad<\/a> in the weeks leading up to the state&rsquo;s open primary in March using a Fox News article. In an apparent attempt to boost Garvey and avoid facing another Democrat in the general election, Schiff&rsquo;s campaign was short and sweet with its desired headline of &ldquo;Steve Harvey.&rdquo; The description said he&rsquo;s &ldquo;the leading Republican candidate in California&rsquo;s Senate race.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Schiff&rsquo;s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The DSCC in September 2023 took out four Google Search ads on articles from the progressive <em>American Independent<\/em> and retitled them &ldquo;Social Security At Risk.&rdquo; They altered the descriptions on each of the ads to target either Cruz or Scott.<\/p>\n<p>The two about Cruz <a href=\"https:\/\/adstransparency.google.com\/advertiser\/AR00340999924898332673\/creative\/CR18223678762438885377?region=US&amp;topic=political&amp;platform=SEARCH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>read<\/a> &ldquo;Ted Cruz&rsquo;s government shutdown would raise your costs&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/adstransparency.google.com\/advertiser\/AR00340999924898332673\/creative\/CR13866228419655630849?region=US&amp;topic=political&amp;platform=SEARCH\">and<\/a> &ldquo;Ted Cruz is threatening a shutdown.&rdquo; The two on Scott <a href=\"https:\/\/adstransparency.google.com\/advertiser\/AR00340999924898332673\/creative\/CR11812024039621263361?region=US&amp;topic=political&amp;platform=SEARCH\">read<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/adstransparency.google.com\/advertiser\/AR00340999924898332673\/creative\/CR09366569441959084033?region=US&amp;topic=political&amp;platform=SEARCH\">same<\/a> but substituted his name in the place of Cruz.<\/p>\n<p>The DSCC told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in a statement that the premise they manipulated headlines and descriptions was &ldquo;completely false.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Rick Scott and Ted Cruz have a&nbsp;long record&nbsp;of threatening Social Security, and we are making sure voters know about it,&rdquo; DSCC spokesman Tommy Garcia said.<\/p>\n<p>Google Search ads are labeled as sponsored posts, and those from political campaigns list &ldquo;paid for by&rdquo; disclosures. But critics say the scheme, while allowed by Google, is deceptive to voters, particularly those seeking more information about certain candidates or races. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Facebook, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/business\/help\/103043593796161?id=250502925955301\">an effort<\/a> to &ldquo;stop the spread of misinformation and false news,&rdquo; banned the ability in 2017 of advertisers to alter news headlines.<\/p>\n<p>In Harris&rsquo;s case, her campaign using headlines and descriptions of its choice has caught more mainstream and nonpartisan outlets off guard, including <em>USA Today<\/em>, CBS News, the <em>Associated Press<\/em>, PBS, <em>Time<\/em>, and the <em>Guardian<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While we understand why an organization might wish to align itself with the Guardian&rsquo;s trusted brand, we need to ensure it is being used appropriately and with our permission,&rdquo; a <em>Guardian<\/em> spokesperson told <em>Axios<\/em>. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The ads from Slotkin, Schiff, and DSCC do not currently display the proper &ldquo;paid for by&rdquo; Disclaimer when viewing them in Google&rsquo;s Ad Library, which the company has said is due to a technical glitch. All the campaigns have verified Google advertising accounts.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to Google, Fox News, and <em>Heartland Signal<\/em> for comment. The <em>American Independent<\/em> could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1709594\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1709594\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats have been utilizing Google search ads to distort news headlines, a practice that goes beyond the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris. Over the past year, Senate campaigns for Democratic candidates Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), along with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), have employed this strategy to influence how news articles are presented online. An analysis by the Washington Examiner of Google\u2019s Ad Transparency Center indicates that these campaigns targeted their Republican opponents by promoting legitimate news links but altering the headlines and descriptions to reflect more favorable narratives.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, Slotkin&#8217;s campaign recently ran a Google Search ad in Michigan featuring an article from Heartland Signal\u2014a left-leaning outlet\u2014targeting her opponent Mike Rogers (R-MI) with a misleading headline: &#8220;Mike Rogers Works for Himself.&#8221; The accompanying description claimed he had exploited his connections in Washington to benefit Chinese tech companies. In response, Rogers&#8217; campaign issued cease-and-desist letters regarding similar claims made in TV ads.<\/p>\n<p>Schiff&#8217;s campaign also engaged in this tactic ahead of California&#8217;s open primary, using a Fox News article but modifying it to highlight his rival Steve Garvey as &#8220;the leading Republican candidate.&#8221; Meanwhile, the DSCC has run multiple ads manipulating headlines related to Social Security issues concerning Senators Cruz and Scott.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue that while such practices are permitted by Google, they mislead voters seeking accurate information about candidates or elections. Unlike Facebook\u2014which banned advertisers from altering news headlines back in 2017\u2014Google allows these modifications. Some mainstream media outlets have expressed concern over how their brands are being used without permission due to these altered ads.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, there is an issue where some of these political ads do not display proper Disclaimers indicating who paid for them; however, all involved campaigns maintain verified advertising accounts with Google. The Washington Examiner has reached out for comments from various parties involved but has yet to receive responses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2324849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/democrats-fake-headlines-google-search-ads.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3685,6063,38204],"class_list":["post-2324848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democrats","tag-google","tag-search-ads"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/democrats-fake-headlines-google-search-ads.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2324848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2324848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2324848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2324849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2324848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2324848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2324848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}