There is a new movement to halt the spread of disinformation by putting public pressure on ad exchanges that act as middlemen between advertisers and websites. Check My Ads, the ad-tech industry’s first watchdog, is leading the effort, and co-founder Claire Atkin will be at CNPA’s annual conference to tell publishers and editors how her company is working to dismantle the “ad-funded disinformation economy.”
CapCon 2023 is tackling the issue of disinformation and its effect on the public’s confidence in news reporting. According to a Gallup poll, just 16% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in newspapers.
Started in the fall of 2021, Check My Ads’ approach has had some notable successes. A number of exchanges have dropped websites featuring Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck and Dan Bongnino. Atkin believes that campaigns by Check My Ads have cost these self-described right-wing shows millions in lost advertising revenue.
Charles Ford Champion II, CNPA president and CEO, said that it is important to hear Atkins’ point of view and learn more about the Check My Ads approach. “Atkin provides an interesting counterpoint to our discussions about free press and free speech,” he said. “As journalists we need to hear all sides of the issue and explore answers to questions of whether alleged ‘dis-informers’ have First Amendment protections.”
Atkin and her co-founder Nandini Jammi recently launched a campaign against Fox News using the ad exchange approach. The aim is to convince the exchanges to drop Fox, which benefits from exchange placements. In a story about the initiative, Atkin said, “We’re kicking off by focusing on many of the same exchanges we previously contacted over their ties to various insurrectionists.”
For its part, Fox reportedly dismissed the campaign as “an effort at censorship.” The network also issued a statement saying, “There is no greater threat to democracy than the effort to silence free speech.”
Atkin writes the popular newsletter BRANDED, which has broken major stories about the advertising industry’s ties to disinformation and hate groups. In the most recent issue, she discusses how “Google has become a massive dark money operation” that enables publishers to monetize content anonymously.
“It’s the anonymous part that is disturbing,” Atkin claims. “It means many advertisers have no idea what their ad dollars are supporting.”
CapCon 2023 will take place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in Sacramento, CA. In addition to Atkin, former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, journalist and author Brian Karem, Reuters Institute research project leader Dr. Benjamin Toff and Real Clear Politics founder Tom Bevan will appear at the conference.
Previously announced:
Real Clear Politics founder to cover polling accountability at CapCon2023
Brian Karem to open 2023 Capital Conference with views on American journalism and how to fix it
Reuters Institute’s Toff to address CNPA’s CapCon2023 about trust toward news media
Former Attorney General Bill Barr to headline CNPA’s CapCon2023
