False Narratives Get Lucrative
Newsweek Europe|December 29, 2023
New X ad-sharing program allows superspreaders of misinformation on viral posts to share advertising income from major brands
JACK BREWSTER, COALTER PALMER and NIKITA VASHISTH
False Narratives Get Lucrative

ON X, FORMERLY TWITTER, PRO-grammatic advertisements for dozens of major brands, governments, educational institutions and nonprofits are being displayed in the feeds directly below viral posts advancing false or egregiously misleading claims about the Israel-Hamas war, a NewsGuard analysis has found. Under the terms of a new advertising revenue sharing program that X introduced for its "creators," a portion of the advertising income generated by these organizations would apparently be shared with these superspreaders of misinformation.

From November 13 to November 22, 2023, NewsGuard analysts reviewed programmatic ads that appeared in the feeds below 30 viral tweets that contained false or egregiously misleading information about the war. Programmatic ads are served via algorithms to target digital ads to online readers. Brands typically do not select where programmatic ads run and indeed are unaware of where their programmatic ads appear.

These 30 viral tweets were posted by 10 of some of X's worst purveyors of Israel-Hamas war-related misinformation, and cumulatively reached an audience of over 92 million viewers, according to X data. On average, each tweet was seen by 3 million people. The accounts News Guard analyzed had previously been identified as repeat spreaders of misinformation about the conflict.

The 30 tweets advanced some of the most egregious false or misleading claims about the war. These include that the October 7  Hamas attack against Israel was a "false flag" and that CNN staged footage of an October 2023 rocket attack on a news crew in Israel.

Denne historien er fra December 29, 2023-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra December 29, 2023-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NEWSWEEK EUROPESe alt
Falling for Romance
Newsweek Europe

Falling for Romance

A new book, Nora Ephron at the Movies, celebrates the writer/director best known for her iconic rom-coms and strong female characters

time-read
5 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Cracking the Norse Code
Newsweek Europe

Cracking the Norse Code

Walrus DNA has shown that Vikings were likely the first to have encountered Indigenous North Americans

time-read
4 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Monumental Shift
Newsweek Europe

Monumental Shift

The discovery of 165-million-year-old crystals Easter Island has upended the longheld notion of how the Earth's \"conveyor belt\" moves

time-read
6 mins  |
November 15, 2024
'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'
Newsweek Europe

'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'

It is a well-known fact across the globe that the North Korean regime is irrational and unpredictable, but we have been consistent in strengthening our defense posture against the threat from North Korea since the Korean War, and I believe that their conventional capability is much inferior to that of the Korean military.

time-read
10 mins  |
November 15, 2024
'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'
Newsweek Europe

'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'

Like Paris Hilton, Natasia Pelowski claims she was subjected to abuse at a teenage therapy program

time-read
3 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout'
Newsweek Europe

Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout'

Vladimir Putin admits difficulties” as the country’s key interest rate reaches a historic high

time-read
3 mins  |
November 15, 2024
China's 'Silent Chemical War'
Newsweek Europe

China's 'Silent Chemical War'

The U.S. must investigate Beijing's role in the manufacturing of fentanyl that is killing Americans, says one mom whose daughter died after accidentally taking the illicit substance

time-read
5 mins  |
November 15, 2024
HARSH HEADWINDS
Newsweek Europe

HARSH HEADWINDS

President Yoon Suk Yeol's BATTLE to reform a South Korea beset with structural problems under the specter of an increasingly aggressive neighbor to THE NORTH

time-read
7 mins  |
November 15, 2024
Bridget Everett
Newsweek Europe

Bridget Everett

BRIDGET EVERETT NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THE LEAD OF A TV SHOW. \"I come from the downtown world in New York, a cabaret singer, and these things just don't happen, you don't find yourself with three seasons of HBO.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Amber Ruffin
Newsweek Europe

Amber Ruffin

A LATE-NIGHT COMEDY SHOW ON CNN? YES, and it's a game show, too.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 08, 2024