Kamala Harris has established another new low in the 2024 election with the revelation that her campaign stole headlines from news outlets, changed them to make her look better, and put those manipulated headlines in ads to misinform, disinform, and manipulate billions of Google impressions. Her aim is clear: she wants voters to believe that media publishers are behind her candidacy, and she'll lie to do it. The Trump campaign is not doing this.
I heard that snicker. We know Harris already has media dominance because of the "D" after her name, but remember, it wasn't so long ago that those same media outlets were calling for "fit as a fiddle" Joe Biden to replace her with someone whose "D" after their name didn't stand for dummy.
Axios's shocking story reveals that Kamala's campaign stole images of news outlets, changed those images, changed the wording and meaning of those images, and lied in their Google ads to disinform voters about her policies and ideas.
Kamala Harris is running Google ads use fake news headlines | Axios
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) August 14, 2024
The Harris campaign has been editing news headlines and descriptions within Google search ads that make it appear as if the Guardian, Reuters, CBS News and other major publishers are on her side, Axios has… pic.twitter.com/SKnolgVCg3
We used to call this behavior unethical, immoral, and wrong. But, astonishingly, the same media that label opinions as misinformation and disinformation are yawning over Kamala's outrageous manipulations.
Independent reporter Glenn Greenwald noticed that Axios reporter Sara Fischer "denigrated her own scoop [by] saying it was no big deal and that Kamala did nothing wrong."
I was shocked yesterday when I saw Axios publish an investigation reflecting negatively on Kamala's campaign.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 14, 2024
But soon as the reporter, @sarafischer, was attacked for doing it, she immediately denigrated her own scoop, saying it was no big deal and Kamala did nothing wrong. pic.twitter.com/DQS03k2rpJ
But hold up. Axios reported that this manipulative behavior of stealing content, changing it, and regurgitating it in its new form isn't against its rules. However, Google's ad people told her a "glitch" appeared to occur that allowed Kamala's ads to run despite "some ads lack[ing] the necessary disclosures Google requires when they ran. (A Google spokesperson confirmed the glitch and said it's investigating what happened.)" Oh. So there's a problem with the ads.
Moreover, the news outlets being misused by Kamala's campaign weren't aware of the manipulations of their stories.
Since Aug. 3, nearly a dozen news companies have been used in these types of search ads from the Harris campaign, Axios found. Examples include The Independent UK, NPR, AP, The Guardian, USA Today, PBS, CNN, CBS News, Time and others, including local outlets like North Dakota radio station WDAY Radio. The ads include links to real articles from the news outlets, but the headlines and supporting text have been altered to read as though the articles support the Harris campaign's objectives. For example, an ad that ran alongside an article from The Guardian shows a headline that reads "VP Harris Fights Abortion Bans - Harris Defends Repro Freedom" and then includes supporting text underneath the headline that reads, "VP Harris is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump's abortion bans."
The same media that go along with the Censorship Industrial Complex on digital platforms, sometimes at the behest and demand of state actors like the CIA and FBI, yawn at Kamala Harris's manipulations of their work product.
Just this week there was a reporter spouting on CNN that Elon Musk should not be allowed to interview Donald Trump, though the same invitation has been extended to Harris.
This is astonishing.
I know I shouldn't be amazed by the collective hypocrisy of the left, but the moral compass in me just can't help it.
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