Sponcon Disclosure Lessons from Teen Vogue’s Facebook Article Controversy

As the lines between journalism and advertising become increasingly blurred, media companies must be on high alert for potential pitfalls around the failure to properly disclose sponsored content. The proper characterization of content as commercial advertising, and the proper disclosure of such sponsored content, has drawn the scrutiny of both the Federal Trade Commission and the National Advertising Division in recent years. Teen Vogue’s equivocation on whether an uncritical article on Facebook’s role in the 2020 election amounted to sponsored content provides many lessons from which other media companies should learn. Earlier today, Teen Vogue published an article titled, “How Facebook Is Helping Ensure the Integrity of the 2020 Election.” The Twitterverse was set abuzz, because it seemed to be overly laudatory of Facebook and did not contain any critical questioning.  Commentators found the questions posed and the tone of the article surprising in light of Facebook’s role in the 2016 election and its recent public pronouncement regarding its approach in 2020. “Interesting pivot for Teen Vogue here to… Facebook PR?” tweeted Steven Perlberg, a freelance writer formerly with BuzzfFeed News and The Wall Street Journal, while Molly Jong-Fast of The Daily Beast described the article as “so sketchy.” Approximately an hour after it was posted, Teen Vogue added a prominent disclosure below the headline, stating, “Editor’s note: This is sponsored editorial content.” In a... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-01-09 00:40:34 UTC ]
News tagged with: #clear message #digital age

Other news stories related to: "Sponcon Disclosure Lessons from Teen Vogue’s Facebook Article Controversy"


More Trouble for Huawei: No More Facebook on New Phones

Facebook reportedly bans Huawei from installing its apps, including Instagram and WhatsApp, on new phones. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2019-06-07 19:07:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Facebook Wants D.C. Appellate Court to Toss Suit Over Cambridge Analytica

Facebook is urging a judge in Washington, D.C. to halt proceedings in a lawsuit brought by the attorney general Karl Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-06-07 15:14:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #lawsuit brought #cambridge analytica


Facebook stops apps being pre-installed on Huawei phones

The block on pre-installed apps on Huawei smartphones will also apply to Instagram and Whatsapp. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2019-06-07 11:40:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #huawei phones


Bring Back the Golden Age of Broadcast Regulation. Especially for YouTube and Facebook.

They should be seen as communications infrastructure, and be made to serve the public interest. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2019-06-07 01:34:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #public interest #golden age #bring back


Facebook has known since 2018 it was being used to incite hate

Facebook knew as early as 2018 that its platform was being used to incite division and violence, a company official told MPs in Ottawa on Thursday. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2019-06-06 12:45:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #facebook knew


Ratings show WJZ lost almost half of key audience for 5 p.m. news in wake of Bubala controversy

WJZ-TV lost almost half of its 5 p.m. news audience in a key demographic during the May sweeps in the wake of a controversial question by anchorwoman Mary Bubala and her subsequent firing, according to figures confirmed by the Nielsen Co. and WJZ. While ratings can be read, analyzed and spun... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-06-05 09:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #subsequent firing #key demographic


Facebook shareholder revolt gets bloody: Powerless investors vote overwhelmingly to oust Mark Zuckerberg as chairman

Independent Facebook investors voted overwhelmingly to fire Mark Zuckerberg as chairman and scrap the firm’s share structure. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2019-06-04 21:05:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Facebook and Twitter are growing into the mainstream

The row over a fake Nancy Pelosi video shows platforms are no longer disruptors, but incumbents, gatekeepers and publishersIn the first three months of 2019, Facebook removed about 2bn fake accounts from its servers. This is roughly equivalent to all the legitimate accounts the company has on... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-06-02 13:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #fake accounts #roughly equivalent #facebook removed


D.C. case against Facebook over Cambridge Analytica will proceed

Early Friday, a judge sided with Facebook shareholders who demanded the company hand over emails and records related to its handling of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Later in the day, the company was denied again in court, as Reuters reports that... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-06-01 07:32:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #reuters reports #records related #judge sided #early friday #cambridge analytica #facebook shareholders


6 lessons I learned by doing a paid newsletter for a year

A bit of advice before getting into online publishing’s next big thing. Last year, after nearly a decade of freelance tech journalism, I took a leap of faith and launched a paid subscription newsletter.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-06-01 06:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #big thing #online publishing


Facebook's anti-revenge porn technology doesn't - and won't - notify victims

Social platform's latest tech can detect non-consensual intimate images before they're reported, but victims won't be alerted. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2019-05-31 23:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #social platform


Irish Supreme Court Rejects Facebook Bid to Block ECJ Data Case

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will hear a landmark privacy case regarding the transfer of EU citizens’ data to Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-05-31 19:45:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #european court


Are Facebook Stories Ads Beginning to Catch On With Brands?

Facebook introduced ads for Stories last September and, while the social network and some of its advertisers are bullish on the option, the jury remains out among the ad community in general. Over 500 million people are using Stories on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp (where the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-05-31 19:45:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #ad community


Judge demands Facebook hand over data privacy records

Facebook will have to hand over emails and records related to how it handled the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In September, shareholders sued the company in order to obtain information pertaining to the leak. Today, a US judge sided with shareholders... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-05-31 19:12:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #judge sided #records related


Harry Potter E-Books Offer Hogwarts Lessons for All

“Harry Potter: A Journey Through Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts” and “A Journey Through Potions and Herbology” are arriving in late June. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-05-31 18:46:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #late june #harry potter


Facebook is financing a massive solar farm in Texas

Facebook is investing heavily in a massive solar farm in Texas as it rumbles towards its goal of running entirely on renewable energy by the end of next year. Renewables company Longroad Energy has started building the Prospero Solar project in Andre... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-05-31 15:47:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #investing heavily


If you want to change Facebook, you have to change Zuckerberg

An investor asked Mark Zuckerberg if he would give up some of his power for the good of the company. She didn’t get an answer, but she asked the right question. At Facebook’s annual shareholder meeting, a shareholder stepped up to the microphone and asked Mark Zuckerberg if he’d be willing to... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-05-31 09:15:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg 'survives' leadership vote

Some shareholders wanted Facebook's chairman and chief executive to step down from one of his roles. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2019-05-31 08:58:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #mark zuckerberg


Northland Kiwi voice artist for Netflix, Facebook wins big at London awards

The British accent you hear on Netflix or Facebook could well be voiced by an award-winning Kiwi from Northland. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2019-05-31 01:14:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


BTS Is Unveiling a New Facebook Messenger Sticker Pack for National Best Friend Day

National Best Friend Day is coming up June 8, and BT21 and Facebook Messenger released a new sticker pack Thursday to mark the event, Best Friends Forever. Facebook/BT21/Line Friends BT21 is a set of animated characters created by South Korean K-pop boy group BTS in partnership with Line... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-05-30 17:00:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this |