Big advertisers like Kraft, Kellogg's, and Hertz are running ads on the shady site connected to Facebook's lobbying

Mark Zuckerberg


Big advertisers may have supported Facebook as it embarked on an aggressive lobbying campaign to combat its critics — and they probably don't even know it.

According to a bombshell New York Times report published Wednesday, Facebook hired the conservative lobbying firm Definers Public Affairs in the midst of its PR crisis in October 2017, which, among other tactics, ran a site called NTK Network as part of its operations — described as an "in-house fake news shop" by sources to NBC News. NTK Network has a verified Facebook page with more than 120,000 followers, where it publishes and promotes articles about its clients as well as their competitors. 

Facebook said it ended its relationship with the firm Wednesday. But a day after the report, advertisers like Pringles, Cheez-It, Oscar Mayer, and Hertz, to name a few, continue to run ads on NTK Network, Business Insider has found. Kellogg's is the parent company of Pringles and Cheez-It while Kraft owns Oscar Mayer.

Business Insider scraped through the site and found a number of ad-tech companies, including Oath, Teads, and Taboola running ads on it. These companies provide automated systems that plug into hundreds of sites on the web, helping advertisers target their desired audiences easily. When we clicked on the "Ad Choices" button on the top of one of the ads, we were directed to a page which said the ad "was served by Oath or one of Oath's advertising partners."

Screen Shot 2018 11 15 at 4.14.34 PM

NTK, like many other sites on the web, seems to generate revenue by programmatic advertising, and this appears to be the latest example of brands finding their ads in shady corners of the web through their programmatic-ad buys. Programmatic advertising is both cost and time efficient, but often comes with the added risk of brands' ads appearing next to questionable content they would rather not be associated with. 

Business Insider reached out to Kellogg's, Kraft, and Hertz, but had not heard back at the time of publication.

Read More: The internet is such a mess that brands are hiring executives to make sure their ads don't end up next to objectionable content

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Contributer : Tech Insider https://ift.tt/2K6SXlH
Big advertisers like Kraft, Kellogg's, and Hertz are running ads on the shady site connected to Facebook's lobbying Big advertisers like Kraft, Kellogg's, and Hertz are running ads on the shady site connected to Facebook's lobbying Reviewed by mimisabreena on Friday, November 16, 2018 Rating: 5

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