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 ]
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Breaking Up Facebook Isn’t Enough

The Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes calls the company’s influence staggering and dangerous. But his solutions are incomplete and unsatisfying. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-05-09 20:14:19 UTC ]
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How I Tried to Defy the Facebook Algorithm

The social network is predictable and dreary. My quest to make it random and fun. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-05-09 17:00:00 UTC ]
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Digiday Research: European publishers still look to Facebook and Instagram to grow abroad

Forty-two percent of 103 publishing executives polled by Digiday this February said Facebook was an effective platform to grow international audiences. The post Digiday Research: European publishers still look to Facebook and Instagram to grow abroad appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What Facebook Could Have Been

A shareable online diary was an obvious idea in the early 2000s. What if a college student’s version hadn’t won out? Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-05-07 14:00:26 UTC ]
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How Facebook is designing for an incoming avalanche of dead users

A new study finds that by 2050, the dead will outnumber the living on Facebook. Here’s how the company is designing user experiences to face the billions of dead users to come. By 2050, the dead will outnumber the living on Facebook. That’s a conservative estimate, according to a study... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Instagram and Facebook Ban Far-Right Extremists

Alex Jones, Infowars, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, Paul Nehlen, and Louis Farrakhan have all been removed from the platforms. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2019-05-02 18:01:07 UTC ]
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Amélie Wen Zhao's controversial young-adult book will be published in the fall

Amélie Wen Zhao's young-adult novel "Blood Heir," which was postponed by the author earlier this year after some Twitter users accused it of being racially insensitive, will be released in the fall, Publishers Weekly reports. Zhao's debut book, the first in a planned fantasy trilogy, came under... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook leans harder into Groups as it redesigns main app

Facebook Inc. unveiled a redesign Tuesday that focuses on the Groups feature of its namesake social network, doubling down on a successful but controversial part of the big blue app. It’s another sign that Facebook is moving toward more private, intimate communication. The changes, announced... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-04-30 22:05:00 UTC ]
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University of Maryland Medical System CEO resigns amid controversy over Pugh book deal, no-bid contracts

Robert A. Chrencik resigned Friday as president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System, his long tenure at the hospital network ending amid the controversy surrounding accusations of self-dealing and no-bid contracting. “Today the Board of Directors and I received and accepted Mr.... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook anticipates federal privacy fine of up to $5 billion, sets aside $3 billion for payment

Facebook said it expects a fine of up to $5 billion from the Federal Trade Commission, which is investigating whether the social network violated its users' privacy. The company set aside $3 billion in its quarterly earnings reportWednesday as a contingency against the possible penalty but... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-04-25 02:15:00 UTC ]
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Wired’s Facebook boom, and why we need new labor laws for kidfluencers: Publisher’s Brief

Welcome to the latest edition of Ad Age Publisher's Brief, our roundup of news from the world of content producers across digital and print. Got a tip? Send it our way. Joining us late? Here's the previous edition. Facebook II: Wired is out with a sequel of sorts to its widely-read March 2018... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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5 Refreshing Lessons From Elizabeth Warren's Personal Finance Book

She wrote 'All Your Worth' in 2005. Here's how her advice holds up nearly 15 years later. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2019-04-24 23:06:24 UTC ]
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Facebook says settling FTC investigation could cost up to $5 billion

Facebook Inc. estimated that it will cost as much as $5 billion to resolve a U.S. investigation into its privacy practices, as the social-media giant moves to put the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal behind it. Facebook said Wednesday that it took a $3-billion charge related to... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-04-24 22:10:00 UTC ]
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Facebook says settling FTC investigation could cost up to $5 billion

Facebook Inc. estimated that it will cost as much as $5 billion to resolve a U.S. investigation into its privacy practices, as the social-media giant moves to put the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal behind it. Facebook said Wednesday that it took a $3-billion charge related to... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-04-24 22:10:00 UTC ]
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Facebook uploaded email contacts of 1.5m users without consent

Company says it has stopped using password verification feature that collected data Facebook has admitted to “unintentionally” uploading the address books of 1.5 million users without consent, and says it will delete the collected data and notify those affected.The discovery follows criticism of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Puffin defends John Boyne’s YA novel about transgender teen

Children's publisher Puffin has said it is proud to be publishing John Boyne’s novel about a transgender teen, after the book was labelled "transphobic" by some campaigners, and an article the author wrote in the Irish Times about the subject received criticism on social media. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dozens of cybercriminal groups used Facebook to set up shop

Facebook Inc. housed dozens of cybercriminal groups that set up shop on the platform as online marketplaces to sell a variety of illegal services, such as stolen credit card information, account theft and spamming tools, a team of researchers found. Cisco Systems Inc.’s Talos security unit... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vogue’s Digital Director Takes Us Inside the Brand’s Cross-Platform Strategy

Vogue may still be best known for its print edition, whose September fashion issue, though thinner each year, remains a relative bible against its competitors. But some may be surprised to learn that 13.3 million U.S. adults visited Vogue.com in February, according to comScore data, an increase... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Study: Facebook ad targeting may discriminate—even when advertisers don’t want it to

Despite researchers’ efforts to target every race equally, they found that Facebook’s platform targeted by race anyway A new research paper published on Wednesday shows that Facebook’s ad targeting can discriminate by race and gender, even when advertisers request that their ads should be shown... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How to finally bring Facebook to account | Letters

We must redefine Facebook as a publisher and not a platform so it bears responsibility for its content, says Pam Rudd. Tobacco was once ubiquitous yet many managed to quit, says Bob Walsh. We must view social media the same wayI do not believe we need to rewrite most of our regulation to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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