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 Publishing stories related to: 'Sponcon Disclosure Lessons from Teen Vogue’s Facebook Article Controversy'


Facebook COO says it's 'exploring' restrictions on who can go live

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg took to the Instagram blog this evening saying "We have heard feedback that we must do more – and we agree" (the post was also published as an op-ed in the New Zealand Herald). Despite the lack of credibility big te... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #zealand herald


HUD accuses Facebook of housing discrimination — and eyes Google and Twitter too

The Department of Housing and Urban Development alerted Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google last year that it is scrutinizing their practices for possible housing discrimination, a sign that more technology companies could be ensnared in a government probe of their lucrative demographic... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-28 23:15:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eyes google #housing discrimination #technology companies #government probe


HUD accuses Facebook of housing discrimination — and eyes Google and Twitter too

The Department of Housing and Urban Development alerted Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google last year that it is scrutinizing their practices for possible housing discrimination, a sign that more technology companies could be ensnared in a government probe of their lucrative demographic... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-28 23:15:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eyes google #housing discrimination #technology companies #government probe


Inside Facebook-born Freeda Media’s distributed publishing strategy

Two-year-old female-focused Freeda Media has worked with 150 brands on branded content campaigns, and revenue has seen triple-digit growth. The post Inside Facebook-born Freeda Media’s distributed publishing strategy appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Europe backs new laws that clamp down on Facebook, Google, Big Tech: Wednesday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age's Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. You can get an audio version of this briefing on your Alexa device. Search for "Ad Age" under "Skills" in the Alexa app.What people are talking about todayEurope just pushed through another... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital news #audio version #alexa device #alexa app #copyright rules #pay publishers #news snippets #reuters reports


European Parliament Approves Controversial Copyright Overhaul

By a 348 to 278 margin, the European Parliament voted to approve a sweeping copyright reform bill celebrated by publishers and media companies, but which critics say could harm free expression online and fundamentally alter the way the internet works. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media companies


EU passes divisive Article 13 copyright law

In what should be its final vote on the matter, the European Parliament approved its new, highly controversial copyright rules. While the Copyright Directive is meant to empower creatives and news publishers, the rules are seen by many as over the to... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #copyright directive #news publishers


Facebook knew about Cambridge Analytica prior to 'Guardian' exposé

Facebook has admitted that it suspected Cambridge Analytica of scraping data from the platform even before the first reports about its massive data collection were published. The Guardian has learned about the social network's suspicion from a court... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook knew


Facebook left ‘hundreds of millions’ of users’ passwords stored in plain text

Facebook Inc. said Thursday that it had left “hundreds of millions” of users’ passwords exposed in plain text, potentially visible to the company’s employees, marking another major privacy and security headache for a tech giant already under fire for mishandling people’s personal... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-21 20:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #passwords stored #plain text #left hundreds #passwords exposed #potentially visible #major privacy #security headache #tech giant #mishandling people #personal information


Facebook left ‘hundreds of millions’ of users’ passwords stored in plain text

Facebook Inc. said Thursday that it had left “hundreds of millions” of users’ passwords exposed in plain text, potentially visible to the company’s employees, marking another major privacy and security headache for a tech giant already under fire for mishandling people’s personal... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-21 20:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #passwords stored #plain text #left hundreds #passwords exposed #potentially visible #major privacy #security headache #tech giant #mishandling people #personal information


How Facebook is spending more to ensure wary publishers rely on it less

The pilot program is designed to improve the spread of information among local news publishers looking to modernize their businesses. The post How Facebook is spending more to ensure wary publishers rely on it less appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pilot program


Facebook and Google broke down barriers to broadcast media — even for mass killers

The killing of 49 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, was engineered to be viewed and shared on the world’s largest technology platforms, taking full advantage of Silicon Valley’s laissez-faire approach to content moderation. It began with a racist manifesto uploaded to the... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-16 00:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google broke #mass killers #silicon valley #laissez-faire approach #content moderation


Facebook and Google broke down barriers to broadcast media — even for mass killers

The killing of 49 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, was engineered to be viewed and shared on the world’s largest technology platforms, taking full advantage of Silicon Valley’s laissez-faire approach to content moderation. It began with a racist manifesto uploaded to the... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-16 00:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google broke #mass killers #silicon valley #laissez-faire approach #content moderation


El apagón global de Facebook fue causado por' un cambio en la configuración del servidor'.

El apagón global de Facebook Inc., que afectó a los usuarios de su red social homónima, así como a los servicios de Instagram, Messenger y WhatsApp, fue resultado de un problema técnico,  anunció la compañía. El problema fue causado por "un cambio en la configuración del servidor" y ahora está... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Baltimore Mayor Pugh amends financial disclosure filings amid scrutiny over book sales to UMMS hospital system

Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh did not fully disclose the $500,000 business relationship she started in 2011 with the University of Maryland Medical System during the time she was a state senator, a period during which she sat on the hospital network’s board of directors and oversaw issues... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book sales #hospital network


Chris Cox Is Leaving Facebook

Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer, announced he’s leaving the company one week after Mark Zuckerberg published his privacy manifesto. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2019-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #leaving facebook #chris cox


Facebook loses top product officer Chris Cox, Mark Zuckerberg’s confidant

Facebook Inc.’s top executive in charge of all products, Chris Cox, the longtime confidant of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, is leaving the company. It’s the highest-level departure at the social media giant amid nearly two years of sustained crises. Cox’s unexpected departure, which he... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-14 22:45:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mark zuckerberg #chris cox #longtime confidant #top executive #highest-level departure #sustained crises #unexpected departure


Facebook loses top product officer Chris Cox, Mark Zuckerberg’s confidant

Facebook Inc.’s top executive in charge of all products, Chris Cox, the longtime confidant of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, is leaving the company. It’s the highest-level departure at the social media giant amid nearly two years of sustained crises. Cox’s unexpected departure, which he... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-14 22:45:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mark zuckerberg #chris cox #longtime confidant #top executive #highest-level departure #sustained crises #unexpected departure


Facebook’s global outage was caused by ‘a server configuration change’

Facebook Inc.’s global outage — which hit users of its namesake social network as well as sister services Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp — is winding down, the company announced Thursday. The issue was caused by “a server configuration change” and is now resolved, “and our systems are... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-14 16:55:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #global outage #hit users


Facebook’s global outage was caused by ‘a server configuration change’

Facebook Inc.’s global outage — which hit users of its namesake social network as well as sister services Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp — is winding down, the company announced Thursday. The issue was caused by “a server configuration change” and is now resolved, “and our systems are... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-14 16:55:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #global outage #hit users