Fake News Ads Appear on Fact-Checking Sites

The New York Times reports that as recently as last week, fake news stories “were being promoted with prominent ads served by Google on PolitiFact and Snopes, fact-checking sites created precisely to dispel such falsehoods.”

“The fake news ads all worked the same way: They would display headlines at the top of the fact-checking sites that, once clicked, took readers to sites that mimicked the logos and page designs of legitimate publications. The fake stories began with headlines and large photos of the celebrities in question, but after a few sentences, they transitioned into an ad for an anti-aging skin cream.”

[alert type=”general” dismiss=”no”]The inability of publishers to adequately block these ads is one reason I moved Political Wire to a membership model. Join today and you’ll get many benefits, including no ads. [/alert]