Absa, Cell C, and more caught ‘funding’ fake news sites

News24 recently partnered with AfricaCheck in an attempt to expose fake news in South Africa. The publication has just released a three-month investigation finding that big brands have “indirectly contributed” to fake news by buying programmatic advertising that has been found “dodgy” websites.

Brands caught out advertising on fake news sites include Mercedes-Benz, Cell C, Absa, OUTsurance, Takealot, Coronation, and Capitec.

Whether the brands are aware of having advertised on these sites is unclear. OUTsurance, Coronation, Mercedes-Benz, and Capitec have all said this took place without their knowledge.

It seems the fake news sites were part of the Google Display Network (GDN), a list of the company’s Adsense-approved websites. Companies advertising through Google then reportedly ended up on the fake news sites without their knowledge.

While Google declined to comment on the specific sites, they did remove Nigerian-based HINNEws – known for a mix of real and fake news, the latter having included outlandish stories such as one about Julius Malema dying of listeriosis – from Google’s GDN after News24 contacted them about the matter.

READ MORE: Media hits back at fake news

According to a spokesperson for the search engine: “Our publisher policies govern where Google ads may be placed. We don’t comment on individual sites but we enforce these policies vigorously and regularly review sites to ensure compliance. We also encourage people to let us know when they see sites that they have concerns about that may be in violation of our policies.”

The viral spread of hoaxes and misinformation ahead of the US election and Brexit referendum two years ago was a wake-up call for many established news media, who have gone on the offensive to shore up their credibility and help filter out fake news.

The Citizen reported in July that major media organisations all over the world, often in partnership with big technology and social media firms, had stepped up fact-checking and other steps to support fact-based journalism.

But these efforts have been complicated by unrelenting attacks on the media by US President Donald Trump and others who tend to label any unfavourable coverage “fake news”.

These attacks do not seem unique to the US. Willem Petzer, a far right vlogger, recently dismissed as “fake news” a story in The Citizen exposing racist memes posted in a Discord group he hosted. We stand by the story as genuine.

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