Fake news: hoaxes, propaganda, and misinformation deliberately published to mislead, rather than entertain audiences, has caused fear and confusion across the world, from news publishers accused of promoting it, to readers who have been duped by it. As Claudia Collu (pictured below), chief commercial officer, MainAd explains, it's now also becoming a discussion topic within the programmatic community. Here, Collu tells ExchangeWire the industry needs to take a step back and continue to focus on quality ad placements.

From reports that a Chinese zoo was to name a gorilla Harambe McHarambeface, to claims that Pope Francis had endorsed Donald Trump, 2016 became the year of fake news. These two stories, and thousands of other untruths, which originated on fake news websites, were shared around the world by people who believed them or propagated for others to believe.

Fake news is becoming a subject of discussion within the programmatic community. Some advertisers are raising brand safety concerns and the potentially negative impact on their reputation, if their ads appear alongside these bogus articles. They do not want consumers to think they condone a particular political stance or controversial claim.

The nature of programmatic buying means the advertising money is following the eyeballs; but there are now calls for the ad tech industry to do more to reassure brands and avoid the risk of investments being withdrawn. Kellogg’s, for instance, have pulled their ads from the right wing news site Breitbart after questioning whether some of its stories are 'aligned with their values'. Advertisers are demanding more control over where their ads are placed.

There is even a debate over whether the rise in fake news sites and questionable content might persuade advertisers to reassign their budgets back to traditional media such as TV. However, no media is entirely safe under this claim. CNN, for example, has blotted their copybook, after President Trump accused the channel of reporting fake news over the release of an unverified dossier by internet media company Buzzfeed.

Claudia Collu, Chief Commercial Officer, MainAd

So, what is the answer to keep everyone happy in the fake news debate? Well, as an industry, we need to stop looking for scapegoats and rushed sentences: opportunities must be adequately weighed while we put solutions into perspective. Take Facebook, for example. Here is a site that carries a huge amount of fake news because people can write and share anything they want to. Yet brands can reach a massive audience with relevant content, so no advertiser in their right mind would consider stopping investing on the social media over brand-safety concerns.

The internet is the most cost effective media, as well the most measurable and, as such, it should be valued. Brands certainly have the right to appear on good quality websites, and any provider of programmatic buying needs to appreciate their clients’ concerns, but fake news probably shouldn’t be at the top of the list. The emphasis for everyone in 2017 must focus more on the audience an ad is reaching, rather than on the website itself.

Of course, most people would agree there needs to be greater scrutiny applied to traffic sources, but advertisers need to have realistic expectations aligned to their budget. In RTB, for example, transparency can be limited as it allows placements to be purchased at a cheaper price. Ultimately, advertisers must be willing to pay more for higher transparency if they want to dig deeper into the traffic. MainAd, for example, works on a CPA basis so it is in our interest to place ads where they will convert or we do not get paid otherwise.

Ideally advertisers should work with companies that appreciate the difference between useful and unworthy concerns. Both have a role to play, but there must be trust between provider and client, so that a flexible approach can be taken to meet short- and long-term business objectives. Everything comes down to analysing and filtering traffic based on an agreed KPI. In very simple terms, high views and low clicks generally indicate that the traffic is unqualified and irrelevant, thus should be filtered out. These actions have a much deeper effect than removing fake news content from media buying.

On the same line of thoughts, viewability, related to the position of an ad on the page, is another interesting topic. A banner situated where it can’t be seen, irrespective of a fake or real site, cannot be valuable because it won’t convert. If the strategy in place is not correct, an advertiser is paying for placements that don’t drive ROI. Responsible marketers will educate advertisers on these topics, others will charge big money on fake-news-free content.

Ultimately, brands should not obsess over fake news. What matters is understanding how to optimise good ad placements that reach your target audience.