Tag: advertising

Meta Chose Revenue Over Policing Chinese Scam Ads, Documents Show

Meta knowingly tolerated large volumes of fraudulent advertising from China to protect billions of dollars in revenue, a new investigation from Reuters unveiled this week. Internal documents show executives prioritized minimizing “revenue impact” over fully cracking down on scams, illegal gambling, pornography and other banned ads.

Although Meta platforms are blocked inside China, Chinese companies are allowed to advertise to users abroad, according to Reuters. That business grew rapidly, reaching more than $18 billion in revenue in 2024—about 11% of Meta’s global sales. Internal estimates showed roughly 19% of that revenue, more than $3 billion, came from prohibited or fraudulent ads.

Meta documents reviewed by Reuters describe China as the company’s top “Scam Exporting Nation,” responsible for roughly a quarter of scam ads worldwide. Victims ranged from U.S. and Canadian investors to consumers in Taiwan. An internal presentation warned, “We need to make significant investment to reduce growing harm.”

In 2024, Meta briefly did just that. A dedicated China-focused anti-fraud team cut problematic ads roughly in half, from 19% to 9% of China-related revenue. But after what one document described as an “Integrity Strategy pivot and follow-up from Zuck,” the team was asked to pause its work. Meta later disbanded the unit, lifted restrictions on new Chinese ad agencies, and shelved additional anti-scam measures.

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Google and US government battle over the future of internet advertising

Google will confront the U.S. government’s latest attempt to topple its internet empire in federal court on Friday as a judge considers how to prevent the abusive tactics that culminated in parts of its digital ad network being branded as an illegal monopoly.

The courtroom showdown in Alexandria, Virginia, will pit lawyers from Google and the U.S. Department of Justice against each other in closing proceedings focused on the complex technology that distributes millions of digital ads across the internet each day.

After a lengthy trial last year, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled in April that pieces of Google’s ad technology had been rigged in a way that made it an illegal monopoly. That set up another 11-day trial earlier this fall to help Brinkema determine how to remedy its anti-competitive practices.

Friday’s closing arguments will give both Google and the Justice Department a final chance to sway Brinkema before she issues a ruling that probably won’t come until early next year.

The Justice Department wants Brinkema to force Google to sell some of the ad technology that it has spent nearly 20 years assembling, contending a breakup is the only way to rein in a company that the agency’s lawyers condemned as a “recidivist monopolist” in filings leading up to Friday’s hearing.

The condemnation refers not only to Google’s practices in digital advertising but also to the illegal monopoly that it unleashed through its dominant search engine. Federal prosecutors also sought a breakup in the search monopoly case, but the judge handling that issue rejected a proposal that would have required Google to sell its popular Chrome web browser.

Although Google is still being ordered to make reforms that it’s resisting, the outcome in the search monopoly case has been widely seen as a proverbial slap on the wrist. The belief that Google got off easy in the search case is the main reason the market value of its parent company Alphabet surged by about $950 billion, or 37%, to nearly $3.5 trillion since U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta’s decision came out in early September.

That setback hasn’t discouraged the Justice Department from arguing for a breakup of an ad tech system that handles 55 million requests per second, according to estimates provided by Google in court filings.

The huge volume of digital ads priced and distributed through Google’s technology is one of the main reasons that the company’s lawyers contend it would be too risky to force a dismantling of the intricate system.

“This is technology that absolutely has to keep working for consumers,” Google argues in documents leading up to Friday’s hearing. The company’s lawyers blasted the Justice Department’s proposal as a package of “legally unprecedented and unsupported divestitures.”

Besides arguing that its own proposed changes will bring more price transparency and foster more competition, Google is also citing market upheaval triggered by artificial intelligence as another reason for the judge to proceed cautiously with her decision.

In his decision in the search monopoly case, Mehta reasoned that AI was already posing more competition to Google.

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Backlash over Stagwell’s Israel work puts PR ethics in the spotlight

Stagwell, the US-based holding group that owns agencies including agencies Assembly, 72andSunny, Allison+Partners and Anomaly has come under scrutiny following reports of a major research and messaging program conducted for the Israeli government.

According to leaked documents first reported by Drop Site news website, the project involved research across more than 13,000 people and tested campaign messages designed to improve perceptions of Israel internationally. The recommendations included emotional storytelling, messaging around terrorism, and connecting Islamic radicalism to the conflict.

The presentation also recommended the “notion of radical Jihadism” being “universally effective” for conservative audiences. It said connecting radical Jihadism to a desire to dominate other religions was effective as communications means. The report also said that Mark Penn, chairman and chief executive of Stagwell, has long-standing links to Israel.

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, the holding group confirmed a small team had worked on the project, but stressed that each agency in the network operates with autonomy and that its portfolio spans clients “across the political and issue spectrum.” Still, the revelations have prompted strong reaction across the PR and advertising industry.

Strategy consultant Zoe Scaman called on talent within Stagwell-owned agencies to “walk away,” with her LinkedIn post attracting almost 1,000 likes and more than 140 reposts. A follow up post also read:

This industry has a problem with selective blindness.

“We’re brilliant at seeing every nuance of consumer behaviour, every shift in cultural sentiment, every emerging trend. But somehow we develop convenient myopia when it comes to examining our own moral architecture.”

Other agency leaders also voiced criticism, highlighting growing concerns about the role of communications firms in politically charged work.

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Sweeping Trump crackdown on misleading pharmaceutical ads is first in nearly 3 decades

In a landmark move, the Trump administration has launched a sweeping crackdown on misleading pharmaceutical advertisements, the first major enforcement effort since direct-to-consumer drug ads were legalized in 1997. 

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary recently spoke with Full Measure about the unprecedented effort, stating that the agency is sending “thousands” of enforcement letters targeting deceptive promotions across TV, social media, and online platforms. 

The U.S. is one of only two countries allowing such ads (the other is New Zealand). Makary says the commercials often downplay serious risks, present false information, or mislead viewers by showcasing happy, dancing patients. He says FDA enforcement has been notoriously lax for decades, with FDA violation letters to drug companies dropping from 130 annually in the late 1990s to zero in 2024. 

The new plan targets not just TV but also social media influencers and online pharmacies. 

A key focus is closing the “adequate provision loophole,” which allowed vaccine ads to skip disclosing any risks at all by listing them elsewhere, like on websites. 

Makary argues this violates regulations against misleading impressions, and the FDA is moving to eliminate it.

No comparable crackdowns on misleading drug ads have ever been launched. Many observers say that’s in part due to the pharmaceutical industry’s influence with members of Congress who get big money from drug companies. They also blame inaction on the media that benefits from all the money drug ads bring in and make them more likely to defend the industry and downplay or censor prescription drug risks and concerns.

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All The Companies That Advertised On The MSNBC Segment Blaming Charlie Kirk For His Own Death

Numerous companies, including Pfizer, The Economist, and P&G brands, ran advertisements on Katy Tur Reports on MSNBC Wednesday, during which Tur and one of her guests smeared Charlie Kirk following the news that he had been shot. These and other companies did not commit to pulling their advertisements from MSNBC in response to a Federalist inquiry

Analyst Matthew Dowd was sacked from the network after his implication on Tur’s program that Kirk’s assassination was a natural response to his rhetoric. “I always go back to: Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. … [Y]ou can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have, and then saying these awful words, and not expect awful actions to take place,” Dowd said.

The Federalist reached out to the companies (or their parent companies) listed below, asking whether they would publicly condemn the inappropriate comments made on Tur’s program, and whether they had plans to pull their advertising from MSNBC. Only one responded to the questions.

Pfizer, Kenvue (Listerine), The Economist, Pharmavite (Nature Made), Renewal by Andersen, P&G (Nervive and Zevo), AbbVie (Ubrelvy), Bayer (Aleve), Spectrum News 13, Spectrum Reach, Quincy Bioscience (Prevagen), GSK (whatisshingles.com), singlecare.com, Safelite, AliveCor (kardia.com), Morgan and Morgan law firm, Custom Ink, Bausch + Lomb (Blink NutriTears), Dexcom, Balsam Hill, Lipo Flavinoid, and Atlantis Consumer Healthcare (Senokot) were among the companies the Federalist contacted regarding their products’ advertisements.

P&G’s Herbal Essentials did not specifically condemn the comments but claimed “we don’t get to see the final program content, or indeed placement, before our adverts are aired.” They maintained “we support responsible broadcasters with our advertising” and said the matter “will be passed on to our brand team for consideration in the future.”

The Federalist was unable to get in contact with a media representative for Greenway Kia, who also ran an ad during the Katy Tur Reports segment.

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The Return of the Most EVIL Political Attack Ever: Dems in Full Freakout Mode Over ‘They/Them’ Ads

I’m great at writing bios for my PR clients: celebs, entertainers, lawyers, businessmen, athletes—you name it. 

Not to brag, but they’re some of my finest works of fiction.

Because, in my profession, we don’t begin with “the truth.” (More often than not, “the truth” only gets in the way. Lousy reality! It’s always interfering with my creative storytelling!) 

Instead, we begin with the story we want to tell. 

And then we cherrypick the truthful bits and pieces of his or her bio to tell this one specific story. So, nothing in a client’s bio is actually false — you never lie — but you use reality as a springboard for storylines that’ll ring more registers.

Pinsker Law of PR #33: Clients don’t hire propagandists to publicize what the truth is. We’re hired to publicize what they wish the truth was.

It’s not my job to report reality. I’m not a documentary filmmaker; that’s not why clients pay me. Getting mad at a propagandist for inaccurately mirroring reality is kind of like getting mad at a dentist because he’s bad at carpentry: They’re different disciplines.

PR is strategic storytelling. Nothing more, nothing less.

And it’s ALWAYS driven by the beliefs, fears, and aspirations of your target audience.

This takes us to the latest Democratic freakout. Yesterday, it was gerrymandering; today, it’s the dreaded return of the most diabolical, meanspirited political attack of our era: the GOP’s “they/them” ads.

(Gasp!)

CNN issued the ominous warning yesterday: “Republicans reprise anti-transgender ‘Kamala is for they/them’ ads for the midterms.”

Why, how dare those Republicans double-down on a successful political campaign! That’s not fair.

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Woke Gestapo Target ‘Registered Republican’ Sydney Sweeney for Thoughtcrime

The Woke Gestapo in the far-left entertainment media are targeting Sydney Sweeney for a career blacklisting.

So far, Sweeney’s committed two cardinal sins. The first is daring to be sexy and appealing in an American Eagle blue jeans ad. You see, Sweeney had the temerity to be normal-beautiful, not fat/trans/tattooed “beautiful.”

After five years of Normal People being grossed out by an “inclusive standard of beauty” and “body positivity” — which is nothing more than an affirmative action program that allows ugly people to appear in Swimsuit Editions and underwear ads — Sweeney dared to be her sensual, appealing, all-American self in a campaign that even included her own Ford Mustang.

The campaign was a massive success (duh), the blue jeans sold out (duh), and then the left did what it always does in the face of Normal succeeding: they freaked out and screamed “Nazi”. And no, it wasn’t just nobodies on TikTok melting down. Disney staffers at ESPN declared the ad “fascist.” MSNBC said it was “fair” to attack the ad as “Nazi propaganda.”

American Eagle, to its great credit, appears to understand that social media is not real life. Obviously, the ad is a rousing success. Obviously, Normal People appreciate this return to Normalcy. Obviously, though this ad, American Eagle has earned the goodwill of a vast majority of the people who long ago tired of staring at fat women in bikinis… So American Eagle has already told the Woke Gestapo to suck it.

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Leftists Lose Their Minds Over Dunkin’ Donuts Ad Featuring White Model

Remember when beautiful people were the standard in American marketing?  Remember when advertising focused on demographics according to their common interests and their percentage of the general population?  It wasn’t all that long ago, but the woke cult has been working hard over the years to “deconstruct” cultural norms, specifically by hijacking advertising and convincing corporations that DEI is the wave of the future.

Anyone born before Y2K is well aware of the dramatic changes to American media and the startling disappearance of attractive people and white people in ads.  TV shows, movies and even commercials have been carefully crafted with a perfect pie chart of diverse representation while removing the one group that is the actual majority (perhaps even more of a majority as deportations continue).  Most of America does not look like New York or Los Angeles, but if you were to study modern advertising without context you might assume white people in the US are a minority.

It’s not a secret that this is by design.  The religion of Multiculturalism requires that public perception be molded first to assume that demographic balancing is the norm and that “white colonists” are an enemy that must be suppressed for the good of the world.  The more victimhood and controversy leftists can elicit, the more political power they think they can harvest.

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OMG, It’s Literally Another Nazi Propaganda Ad!

Following on from the leftist meltdown over the American Eagle Sydney Sweeney ‘Nazi propaganda’ ad, the mind virus addled whales are now targeting a Dunkin’ ad as the latest example of a rampant white supremacist marketing conspiracy… or something.

This new Dunkin’ ad featuring actor Gavin Casalegno is now getting the screeching TikTok treatment.

Again, because it’s got a white person in it, rather than an obese black disabled ADHD they/them, and because the white person says the word ‘genetics’ it’s somehow all a big Nazi plot against diversity.

“Look, I didn’t ask to be the king of Summer. It just kind of happened,” Casalegno says, adding “This tan? Genetics. I just got my color analysis back. Guess what? Golden Summer. Literally.”

The ad was apparently done as a partner sponsorship with ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ show, starring Casalegno.

The product is called Golden Hour Refresher. The guy has a golden tan. That’s it.

No matter. Crazed leftists are already all over the place whining and sobbing about it being literally Hitler.

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Florida Bans State Funds for Groups Accused of Speech Policing

Florida has moved to shield public funds from being used to support what many see as efforts to police speech under the guise of media bias monitoring.

Under the state’s new fiscal year 2026 budget, taxpayer dollars can no longer be spent on advertising or marketing firms that contract with groups like NewsGuard, Ad Fontes, or the Global Disinformation Index (GDI).

The measure was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

A press release from the Independent Media Council emphasized that the restriction is aimed at blocking state agencies from doing business with companies that rely on “politically biased media monitoring services.”

The council stated, “These monitoring groups purport to be impartial, but consistently skew their ratings to target conservative and independent media from receiving advertising from major brands.”

NewsGuard, one of the most prominent organizations caught in the spotlight, has received federal backing in the form of a $750,000 grant from the Department of Defense.

This funding helped the group develop its “Misinformation Fingerprints” technology, which it now offers to social media platforms, artificial intelligence developers, and tech firms as a tool for tracking so-called misinformation.

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