The Kamala Harris campaign has been caught editing news headlines in Google search results to favor Kamala, but without the knowledge of the outlets in question. The edited headlines also cast Trump in a negative light.
According to Axios, Kamala HQ has edited the headlines of the Guardian, Independent UK, Reuters, CBS News, CNN, USA Today, NPR and others, including local news outlets as well.
They way it works is that Kamala’s campaign is buying ads for articles about their candidate and is then giving it a favorable headline. The ad shows up as sponsored, but Axios reports “the ads mimic real news results” in Google’s search results and “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.”
In other words, they are trying to trick people into thinking they are getting organic search results when they are not.
Axios says Google’s ad transparency center says the Trump campaign is not using this tactic.
They also report that Google is okay with it because it has the word “sponsored” above it.
Most news outlets were unaware that Kamala’s campaign has been changing their headlines, but The Guardian wasn’t too thrilled about it.
“”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.”
What’s hilarious to me is that the news media has been fawning over her. Why do they feel the need to make the headlines even more favorable than they already are?
In any event, it sounds like the Trump campaign needs to start doing this as well. As soon as they do, I guarantee you Google will start cracking down on the practice.
UPDATE: Fox News reports that Google is now saying there’s a glitch that allowed this without more disclosure:
NEW: Google blames a “glitch” for how the Harris campaign was able to trick internet users into thinking reputable news sites were giving Kamala favorable reporting.
It’s really weird how these “glitches” always seem to benefit the left.
Axios released a report revealing how… pic.twitter.com/eINxn5sKMp
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 14, 2024