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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Facebook’s Plan to Make Apps Work Like Webpages Gathers Momentum

Facebook says that hundreds of online companies have adopted its plan to let mobile apps operate more like the world wide web, seamlessly linking together in much the same way that pages do inside your web browser. According to Facebook’s Vijay Shankar, these companies have published over 3... Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online companies #web browser


Playboy Makes Over Website to Be More Facebook-Friendly

Playboy has a new website that the publisher hopes you might even share with your mom on Facebook.Next Monday, the 60-year-old men's magazine will "officially" revamp its 20-year-old website to put a heightened focus on serving up grown-up entertainment that's not overly "adult." The new... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tricking Facebook's Algorithm

A successful experiment to make one status-update widely seen—and the social publishing site still won in the end.  Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2014-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mobile ad success helps Facebook deliver stunning Q2 results

Facebook has smashed all estimates in its earnings and revenue report this week, largely thanks to its robust mobile ad business. The results slapped down any niggling doubts among critics about the social network's ability to transform itself from a simple communication website to a... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad revenue #mobile devices


When an ad is not an ad on Facebook

Publishers have been exploiting a Facebook loophole with their native ads, making them alluring ad buys in light of decreased Facebook reach for brands. The post When an ad is not an ad on Facebook appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A self-published poet laureate? North Carolina pick draws controversy

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory chose self-published poet Valerie Macon without approval from the North Carolina Arts Council. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Secret widens its anonymous network to include your Facebook friends too

When Secret first launched earlier this year, the only subscribers who could see your anonymous missives on the app were folks who were somehow connected to your phone's address book -- they were either your friends, friends of friends or friends of... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook friends #launched earlier


Publishers give Web articles audio options

Digital publishers are moving the battle for audience attention from their eyeballs to their eardrums. The post Publishers give Web articles audio options appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seeing More Politics in Your News Feed? Facebook Boosts Partisan Sites

Facebook has helped catapult sites like BuzzFeed and Upworthy into social stardom, boosting the visibility of media content on the News Feeds of millions of users and generating a deluge of traffic. But in this rising tide, some publishers have seen ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media content #news feeds


James Dawson crowned Queen of Teen

British author James Dawson has beaten off competition from eight other authors, including US... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thai magazine editor arrested over his Facebook comments

A Thai magazine editor has been arrested for posting comments critical of the military on his Facebook page, reports Human Rights Watch (HRW).Thanapol Eawsakul, the editor of Fah Diew Khan (Same Sky) magazine, was detained on Saturday (5 July) and is expected to remain police custody for another... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook comments #sky magazine


Recommended Reading: Colombia's high-tech World Cup training and testing Facebook

Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Colombia's High-Tech... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook buys video ad platform LiveRail

Facebook Inc. bought video advertising company LiveRail to help it target and distribute video ads, AdWeek reported. TechCrunch pegged the price tag between $400 million and $500 million, although the companies haven’t disclosed the terms. LiveRail, based in San Francisco, has created a... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #price tag #$400 million #$500 million


How Hearst learned to play with emotions to drive Facebook traffic game

The publisher, which has seen its Facebook traffic grow more than 500 percent in the past year, shares the secrets to its success. The post How Hearst learned to play with emotions to drive Facebook traffic game appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Buys LiveRail to Grow Its Video Ad Business

Facebook is buying video ad platform LiveRail and giving it control of a network that powers advertising for high-profile publishers—online and on mobile. LiveRail delivers video ads to websites and apps for Major League Baseball, ABC, A+E Networks and Dailymotion. "LiveRail also helps... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #growing concerns #video inventory #intended audience #audience data #video publishers #premium publishers


Facebook to Buy LiveRail, the Third-Biggest Video Ad Seller

Facebook's video ad business just got a lot bigger.Months after rolling out the first video-specific ad product on the social network, Facebook has agreed to acquire LiveRail, one of the biggest video ad sellers. A Facebook spokesman declined to comment on the deal's price.LiveRail automates the... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #video ads #video inventory #real-time auctions #ad technology #timely fashion


How to Stop Facebook From Making Us Pawns in Its Corporate Agenda

Facebook’s most recently published study is not unique. This is a call to action. We should work together to demand that companies promise not to make us involuntary accomplices in corporate activities that compromise other people’s autonomy and trust. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Here Are All the Other Experiments Facebook Plans to Run on You

Facebook and two outside social scientists recently published a scientific paper in which they revealed that they had manipulated users’ news feeds to tweak their emotions. Since then, there has been a growing debate over the ethics and practice of Facebook experimenting on its users, as... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news feeds #katy waldman #press release


Anger at Facebook's Mood Manipulation Not Likely to Last

A Facebook researcher apologized after conducting an experiment that temporarily influenced what almost 700,000 readers saw on their news feeds, reviving some customers' concerns about privacy issues.The number of positive and negative comments that users saw on their feeds of articles and... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news feeds #national academy


Facebook reveals news feed experiment to control emotions

Protests over secret study involving 689,000 users in which friends' postings were moved to influence moodsIt already knows whether you are single or dating, the first school you went to and whether you like or loathe Justin Bieber. But now Facebook, the world's biggest social networking site,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #published details