The reporter who scooped that the Kamala Harris campaign is running Google ads featuring pro-Harris spin in manipulated headlines and descriptions of actual news stories feels the vice president’s camp did “nothing wrong.”
Axios reported Tuesday that the Harris campaign has put out sponsored posts with edited headlines from several news organizations, including CNN, NPR, Reuters, the Associated Press, CBS News, The Guardian and TIME. The manipulated headlines feature pro-Harris spin that wasn’t actually written by the outlets but links to actual articles, without the outlets’ knowledge.
“It’s a common practice in the commercial advertising world that doesn’t violate Google’s policies, but the ads mimic real news results from Search closely enough that they have news outlets caught off guard,” Axios reporter Sara Fischer wrote.
Fischer’s story drew considerable attention, and she received a flood of negative liberal responses to her initial X post promoting the piece. She then drew criticism from conservatives when she took to X to clarify that the Harris team hadn’t done anything wrong.
HARRIS CAMPAIGN MANIPULATED HEADLINES OF NEWS STORIES INJECTING PRO-KAMALA SPIN IN GOOGLE ADS
“Harris camp doing nothing wrong and Google, which is pretty strict about banning spammy ads, doesn’t see it as a consumer harm. News outlets just collateral damage in this weird ads tactic,” Fischer wrote.
The Harris campaign has reportedly bought Google ads featuring manipulated news stories featuring a pro-Kamala spin in the headline and description. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Many conservatives and journalism professionals criticized Fischer’s feedback, suggesting she was putting down her own scoop under liberal pressure. Fischer said she simply meant that the Harris campaign didn’t break the tech giant’s guidelines.
“Just meant they didn’t violate any of Google’s rules,” she told Fox News Digital when asked for comment, adding she wasn’t pressured to clarify the story by the Harris campaign.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald, a frequent critic of the mainstream media, wrote on X, “I was shocked yesterday when I saw Axios publish an investigation reflecting negatively on Kamala’s campaign. But soon as the reporter, @sarafischer, was attacked for doing it, she immediately denigrated her own scoop, saying it was no big deal and Kamala did nothing wrong.”
According to Fischer’s report, one ad featuring a link to The Guardian displayed the headline “VP Harris Fights Abortion Bans – Harris Defends Repro Freedom” with a description that read “VP Harris is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump’s abortion bans.”
Another from NPR had the headline “Harris Will Lower Health Costs” with the description reading “Kamala Harris will lower the cost of high-quality affordable health care.”
One from Reuters simply read “Inflation Is Down” with the description, “Under the Biden-Harris administration, ‘The U.S. is winning the inflation fight.’”
Google said the Harris campaign hadn’t violated its rules. (Photographer: Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Multiple news organizations confirmed to Fox News Digital that they were unaware their articles were being used in that manner.
A spokesperson for The Guardian told Axios, “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.”
Axios also noted that “the Trump campaign isn’t running these types of ads, but this technique has been used by campaigns before,” citing Google’s ad transparency center.
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The practice doesn’t violate Google’s ad policies. The company says that the “Sponsored” label makes them “easily distinguishable from Search results,” according to Axios.
Even the left-wing New Republic was taken aback at the Harris campaign’s tactics, however, writing, “this approach may ultimately prove to be a gambit that lacks an actual advantage as it potentially undermines trust in the news.”
Fox News Digital’s David Rutz and Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.