Google is either asleep at the wheel…or complicit. Kamala Harris’ campaign has been meddling with search results, manipulating ads from prominent publications to create the illusion that major outlets are backing her campaign. It’s yet another blatant display of the bias we’ve come to expect from the Left, but this time, it’s shockingly transparent and desperate. This incident is a stark reminder that the Democrat media machine is alive and well, working overtime to undermine the will of the people. If Harris’ campaign had real confidence in her abilities, why resort to such underhanded tactics?
For all the Left’s handwringing about misinformation and fake news, they remain the primary purveyors of it, and this latest stunt is no exception. According to Axios, the Harris campaign has been tweaking news headlines and descriptions in Google search ads to make it seem as though outlets like The Guardian, Reuters, and CBS News are in her corner.
Why this matters: While this may be a common practice in commercial advertising and technically doesn’t violate Google’s policies, these ads mimic real news results so closely that even the news outlets themselves are taken by surprise. It’s a subtle yet effective way to mislead the public.
Interestingly, the Trump campaign isn’t running these types of ads, according to Google’s ad transparency center. Yet, this technique has been used by campaigns before, though rarely with such blatant disregard for truth.
The problem: These ads are marked as sponsored, but it’s not immediately obvious that the accompanying text was written by the Harris campaign, not the news outlets. The Guardian, among other publications, has expressed concern, with a spokesperson noting, “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.”
Other media brands like CNN, USA Today, and NPR, whose links appeared in Harris’ ads, were also unaware their content was being co-opted in this way.
Reality check: Google defends the ads, stating they don’t break any rules, but this isn’t the first time platforms have had to grapple with whether such formats spread misinformation. Facebook, for example, banned the ability to edit text from Instant Article news links in ads back in 2017, aiming to curb the spread of false information.
Of course, Google claims that since these ads are clearly labeled as “Sponsored,” they’re “easily distinguishable from Search results.” But let’s be real—if the Trump campaign had pulled a stunt like this, you can bet Google’s terms of service would’ve been rewritten overnight.
The Guardian’s involvement isn’t exactly surprising, given their openly left-wing slant. But what’s particularly amusing is that even Axios, which has shown clear bias in favor of Harris, felt the need to report on this shady tactic. Remember when Axios went after Trump for saying “black jobs,” pretending like it was some novel or offensive term? It’s been around for years, folks.
The bottom line is simple: When liberals do it, it’s apparently just fine.
Kamala Harris’ campaign team is editing news headlines in her favor — without outlets’ knowledge: report https://t.co/ngsnoPuGVP pic.twitter.com/nd9NFlAGOa
— New York Post (@nypost) August 14, 2024
