Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign has come under scrutiny for using Google search ads to promote favorable headlines, including edited versions of real news headlines from legitimate outlets. Axios’s Sara Fischer reported on Tuesday that while the ads were clearly marked as sponsored by the Harris campaign, the practice of modifying headlines to appear more favorable raised concerns about the integrity of the news.

Fischer noted that no laws or rules were violated, as the ads complied with Google’s requirements. However, the campaign’s strategy of seemingly co-opting the media’s voice to present favorable coverage was viewed as potentially damaging to public trust in the news.

A source familiar with the Harris campaign explained that the search ads were intended to provide voters with more context about the Vice President. A Google spokesperson confirmed a technical glitch that made some ads appear without the required disclosures, which is being investigated.

Despite compliance with Google’s rules, media outlets featured in the ads were not entirely pleased. A spokesperson from The Guardian, whose headlines were used in the ads, said: “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.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)