Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has been using fake news headlines for Google search advertisements to convince Americans that major media outlets are giving her additional positive coverage ahead of the November election.
Axios reported that the Harris campaign is editing news headlines and descriptions for Google search advertisements, making it appear as if multiple mainstream media outlets are publishing more favorable stories about her campaign and her policy proposals.
Axios noted that while the technique has been used in past election cycles, President Donald Trump’s campaign is not editing news headlines to show false headlines like the Harris campaign has been doing.
The edited advertisements can be seen on the Harris for President Google Ads Center. While the advertisements look like traditional news reports and include links to the original articles published by various outlets, the advertisements have fake headlines edited by the Harris campaign to give a more favorable appearance for the Democratic presidential nominee.
Multiple examples of the edited headlines can be seen in a picture shared on X, formerly Twitter.
According to Axios, the Harris campaign has edited headlines from roughly a dozen news companies in the Google search advertisements since August 3. The outlet noted that examples of the search advertisements include The Associated Press, NPR, USA Today, PBS, The Guardian, The Independent UK, CNN, CBS News, Time, and other media outlets.
While Axios reported that spokespeople for CNN, NPR, and USA Today said the outlets were not aware that their articles were being edited and used in the Harris campaign’s advertisements, other outlets expressed opposition to the campaign’s questionable advertisements.
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“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,” a Guardian spokesperson said. “We’ll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for The Independent “fiercely” objected to the campaign’s advertisements, saying, “It is entirely wrong for anyone to put fake headlines under The Independent brand. We object fiercely and believe it is undermining of what politics and journalism should be about. It is misleading to muddle fake headlines with any campaign trying to persuade people to vote in an election, and must be widely condemned. We will be seeking their removal.”
In response to reports that Harris has been using fake headlines in campaign advertisements, Trump released a statement on Truth Social, writing, “Kamala Harris team, and Google, caught manipulating headlines and stories, creating FAKE NEWS. This is not legal!!!”
