{"id":2591413,"date":"2026-04-16T07:49:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T11:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/major-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T07:55:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T11:55:39","slug":"major-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/major-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Ad Agencies End Alleged Censorship Targeting The Federalist"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/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%2Fmajor-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist%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=2591413&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>The Federalist reports that major U.S. advertising agencies have agreed to end an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-republicans-throw-support-behind-major-biden-censorship-lawsuit-by-conservative-media\/\" title=\"Prominent GOP members back significant conservative media lawsuit against Biden&#039;s &#039;censorship\">alleged censorship scheme<\/a> aimed at demonetizing conservative and independent outlets, including The Federalist. The FTC has announced a proposed order to stop alleged coordinated conduct between ad agencies and \u201cdisinformation\u201d evaluators such as NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index, which purportedly sought to suppress certain publishers\u2019 ad revenue. The complaint, highlighting actions since 2018, accuses agencies WPP, Publicis, Dentsu, Omnicom, and IPG of colluding to establish common brand-safety standards through trade associations to target so-called misinformation, thereby disadvantaging outlets like The Federalist. If approved by a federal judge, the order would prevent such agreements and restore competition in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-regulators-accuse-google-of-anti-competitive-conduct\/\" title=\"Government Regulators Accuse Google of &#039;Anti-Competitive&#039; Conduct\">digital ad ecosystem<\/a>; Omnicom and IPG are said to be subject to a similar FTC order. The case is supported by several states and is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The piece is authored by Shawn Fleetwood for The Federalist.  <\/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<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Google_Censorship.jpg\">mikemacmarketing\/Wikimedia Commons\/<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/16\/major-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Major%20Ad%20Agencies%20Agree%20To%20End%20Alleged%20Censorship%20Scheme%20That%20Targeted%20The%20Federalist&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/16\/major-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Major%20Ad%20Agencies%20Agree%20To%20End%20Alleged%20Censorship%20Scheme%20That%20Targeted%20The%20Federalist&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/16\/major-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/16\/major-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Major%20Ad%20Agencies%20Agree%20To%20End%20Alleged%20Censorship%20Scheme%20That%20Targeted%20The%20Federalist&amp;body='Disinformation'%20firms%20weaponized%20the%20'misinformation'%20designation%20to%20'promote%20the%20demonetization%20of%20disfavored%20political%20viewpoints.'%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/16\/major-ad-agencies-agree-to-end-alleged-censorship-scheme-that-targeted-the-federalist\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Major U.S. advertising agencies have agreed to end an alleged censorship scheme that sought to demonetize conservative and independent news outlets, including The Federalist. <\/p>\n<p>The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2026\/04\/ftc-takes-action-restore-competition-digital-advertising-ecosystem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> the proposed order on Wednesday. The federal agency noted that the tentative deal will halt &ldquo;alleged coordinated conduct&rdquo; between ad agencies and groups specializing in identifying so-called &ldquo;disinformation&rdquo; that reportedly sought to prevent the aforementioned outlets from effectively generating ad revenue. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-982029834\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As the FTC alleged in its legal complaint, beginning in 2018, &ldquo;major U.S. advertising agencies WPP, Publicis and Dentsu &mdash; who buy digital ad inventory on behalf of advertisers &mdash; unlawfully colluded to impose common &lsquo;brand safety&rsquo; standards across the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meta-beats-third-quarter-earnings-estimates-prioritizes-ai-investments\/\" title=\"Meta surpasses Q3 earnings estimates, focuses on AI investments.\">digital advertising industry<\/a>.&rdquo; Along with their primary competitors Omnicom and IPG, these ad agencies purportedly &ldquo;operated through trade associations to establish a common &lsquo;Brand Safety Floor&rsquo; to target &lsquo;misinformation.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The federal agency&rsquo;s complaint additionally alleged that &ldquo;disinformation&rdquo; firms like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/newsguard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NewsGuard<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/global-disinformation-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Disinformation Index (GDI)<\/a> weaponized this &ldquo;misinformation&rdquo; designation to &ldquo;promote the demonetization of disfavored political viewpoints.&rdquo; Among the outlets targeted by this alleged operation was The Federalist. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In a competitive market, ad agencies compete for advertisers&rsquo; business by offering brand-safety tools that provide the best quality at the lowest cost,&rdquo; an FTC press release reads. &ldquo;The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >brand safety agreement displaced competition<\/a> by insulating the ad agencies from these competitive conditions, according to the [FTC] complaint.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>[RELATED:[RELATED:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/01\/the-federalist-scored-a-huge-win-for-free-speech-and-exposed-more-of-the-censorship-industrial-complex\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Federalist Scored A Huge Win For Free Speech &mdash; And Exposed More Of The Censorship-Industrial Complex<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The proposed deal will need to be approved by a federal judge in order to be finalized. If given the green light, the FTC said the deal &ldquo;will ensure that each of the biggest U.S. advertising agencies are prevented from engaging in agreements that would set common brand safety standards or restrict advertising based on biased and politically motivated criteria.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Omnicom and IPG are subject to a similar FTC order,&rdquo; according to the federal agency. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The ad agencies&rsquo; brand-safety conspiracy turned competition in the market for ad-buying services on its head,&rdquo; FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement. &ldquo;This unlawful collusion not only damaged our marketplace, but also distorted the marketplace of ideas by discriminating against speech and ideas that fell below the unlawfully agreed-upon floor. The proposed order remedies the dangers inherent to collusive practices and restores competition to the digital news ecosystem.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The FTC&rsquo;s complaint was joined by a coalition of states that included Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. The agency&rsquo;s complaint and final order were both filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ad-revenue\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ad revenue<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/censorship\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">censorship<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/demonetization\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">demonetization<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/federal-trade-commission\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Federal Trade Commission<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/global-disinformation-index\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Global Disinformation Index<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/newsguard\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">NewsGuard<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/the-federalist\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">The Federalist<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Trump Administration<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FTC aims to halt ad-agency scheme demonetizing outlets.<\/p>\n<p>Would you like a fuller paraphrase of the full article? I can provide a longer version if you want<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2591414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Censorship.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[13386,6371,72237,77874,74375],"class_list":["post-2591413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-advertising","tag-censorship","tag-free-speech-2","tag-media-industry-2","tag-the-federalist-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Censorship.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591413","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2591413"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2591422,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591413\/revisions\/2591422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2591414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2591413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2591413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2591413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}