Kamala Harris’ campaign wants Americans to think that mainstream media outlets are publishing overwhelmingly positive stories about her relatively new candidacy.
The vice president’s team is manipulating headlines and article descriptions within Google search ads to make it appear that outlets like Reuters, CBS News and CNN are endorsing her presidency. An Axios analysis reveals it.
Donald Trump’s campaign is not running these types of ads, according to Google’s advertising transparency center.
While it doesn’t technically violate search engine policies and is marked as “sponsored,” some platforms have questioned whether this format can spread misinformation.
The move is an apparent effort to fuel even more positive headlines and continue the “honeymoon” phase that Republicans claim Harris is going through after taking over the nomination from President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, since entering the race 24 days ago, Harris has yet to participate in an interview or hold a press conference.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is manipulating headlines and paying to have them prominently displayed in Google search results, creating confusion among those who might not be able to distinguish these ads from actual news articles.
Outrage erupted following Axios’ latest report, with one pro-MAGA account writing: “Wow, Kamala is now editing news headlines in her ads in an effort to rewrite history, and she’s not even getting media approval.”
“There is no level they can’t reach,” user X added, claiming Harris has “Marxist principles” instilled in her by her Jamaican-American father.
A source familiar with the Democrat’s campaign ad team told Axios that they buy search ads with links to news stories to give voters looking for information about the vice president more context.
The tactic seeks to mimic real news results and pay to have them appear prominently in search results. And the campaign has been so successful that even media outlets have been surprised.
“While we understand why an organization might wish to align itself with the Guardian’s trusted brand, we must ensure it is used appropriately and with our permission,” a Guardian spokesperson told Axios.
“We will be reaching out to Google to learn more about this practice.”
CNN, USA Today and NPR, whose links appeared in Harris for President ads, said they were unaware their branding appeared this way.
The campaign also targeted headlines on networks such as CNN, USA Today and NPR. Spokespeople for all three media outlets say they were not aware of the brand being used in the ads.
Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Since becoming the nominee last month, she has yet to participate in any interviews or press conferences.
‘The Kamala Harris campaign was caught quietly manipulating news headlines in Google search results,’ one pro-Trump influencer wrote on X.
“Is there anything they don’t lie or cheat about?” the user added.
It is not immediately clear to users that the text accompanying the actual news links is written by the campaign and not the media outlet in question.
In 2017, Facebook banned advertisers from editing the text of news links in their ads. The social network said the move was part of its “ongoing efforts to stop the spread of misinformation and fake news.”
Google says that because the ads feature a prominent “sponsored” label, they are “easily distinguishable from search results.”