A Guardian spokesman said: “While we understand why an organisation 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.”
Another election advertisement linking to the US website for National Public Radio (NPR) read: “Harris Will Lower Health Costs.” Axios reported that the supporting text stated: “Kamala Harris will lower the cost of high-quality affordable health care.”This also did not accurately reflect NPR’s coverage.
Spokesmen for NPR, CNN and USA Today, whose links have appeared in the “Harris for President” advertisements, told Axios they were unaware their brands were being featured this way.
Reuters, CBS News and the Associated Press were also among almost a dozen news companies targeted since Aug 3, Axios found.
Google said the tactic does not break any rules because the advertisements are prominently labelled as “sponsored” so they are “easily distinguishable from search results”.
A Google spokesman said: “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 advertisement.”