Harris Campaign Rewriting Sponsored Google Headlines To Fool Voters

The Harris campaign is changing news headlines and descriptions within Google search ads to make it appear as if major news publications support her policies according to Axios.

A report Tuesday details how the campaign has applied the deceptive technique to articles from "nearly a dozen news companies." Examples include The Independent UK, NPR, AP, The Guardian, USA Today, PBS, CNN, CBS News, and Time.

What exactly does this mean?

"The ads include links to real articles from the news outlets, but the headlines and supporting text have been altered to read as though the articles support the Harris campaign's objectives," Axios explains.

"The ads say that they are sponsored, but it's not immediately clear that the text that accompanies real news links is written by the campaigns and not by the media publication itself."

For example, an ad that ran alongside an article from The Guardian shows a headline that reads "VP Harris Fights Abortion Bans - Harris Defends Repro Freedom" and then includes supporting text underneath the headline that reads, "VP Harris is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump's abortion bans."

Another ad with a link to NPR reads, "Harris Will Lower Health Costs," with supporting text saying, "Kamala Harris will lower the cost of high-quality affordable health care."

Technically, the technique does not violate Google's policies, though it is most commonly used for commercial advertising brands. Not political campaigns. Google's ad transparency center says the Trump campaign is not running these types of ads.

In 2017, Facebook banned the ability for advertisers to edit text from Instant Article news links in their ads, citing "continuing efforts to stop the spread of misinformation and false news."

Google is less concerned. 

The search engine giant claims that because ads on Search are prominently labeled as "Sponsored," they're "easily distinguishable from Search results."

But news organizations may see it differently. Several organizations included in the scheme were unaware that the Harris campaign is rewriting headlines.

"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 said.

Spokespeople for CNN, USA Toda, and NPR also confirmed to Axios they were unaware their brand was being featured this way.

Ultimately, do not expect the report to alter the Harris campaign's plans to continue weaponizing the Google feature, hoping to fool voters. 

A source familiar with the Harris' ads team told Axios the campaign "buys search ads with news links to give voters searching for information about Vice President Harris more context."

"Election advertisers are required to complete an identity verification process and we prominently display in-ad disclosures that clearly show people who paid for the ad," the spokesperson added.

That's certainly one way to frame a misinformation campaign.