The news outlets were not aware that the Harris campaign was doing the practice.
The deceptive advertisements can be seen on the Harris for President Google Ads Center that look like news reports, but with fake headlines. One example from the UK Independent states, "VP Harris Protects Democracy - Trump Defends Jan 6 Comments."
The ad has the sponsorship label, and is paid for by the Harris for President campaign. Other news outlets whose brands were being used in this way included NPR, the AP, The Guardian, USA Today, PBS, CNN, CBS News, Time and others.
Axios reported, "An ad featuring a link to an NPR story reads, 'Harris Will Lower Health Costs,' with supporting text that says, 'Kamala Harris will lower the cost of high-quality affordable health care.'"
Another ad that looks like a Guardian article reads, "VP Harris Fights Abortion Bans - Harris Defends Repro Freedom." A spokesman from the outlet said, "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. We'll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice."
Some of the news outlets that were being used in this way by the Harris campaign were not aware of the ads, per Axios. The ads raise questions about the ethics of the Harris campaign as many have accused the campaign of astroturfing its support.
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