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'


Boom or Bust with Facebook

Science magazine Discover had 69,000 Facebook likes at the beginning of 2013. Growing steadily, that audience had doubled by September. Then in October, it doubled again. November? Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Medium's new iPhone app helps you read (but not write) long articles

We can't say we know all that many people who routinely digest articles posted through Medium's social publishing platform. However, the readership is bound to go up now that the service has released an iPhone app. The mobile client is more of a... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #iphone app


NCAC, ACLU Join Fray in So. Carolina Lit Controversy

The National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Civil Liberties Union have joined together to urge the South Carolina state senate's finance committee to retain state funding of two university reading programs under fire for assigning controversial books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #national coalition


Facebook takes hands-off approach to sponsor posts

Facebook has a clear policy prohibiting brands from publishing advertising on their pages, but things get murkier when ads take the form of sponsor content. The post Facebook takes hands-off approach to sponsor posts appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sponsor content


Zuckerberg responds to 'frustrating' reports of NSA spoofing Facebook, while the agency denies them

Yesterday a report from The Intercept exposed NSA documents apparently showing how it could infect "millions" of computers with malware and even masquerade as a Facebook server. Now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the NSA have both published... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Can A Startup Help Publishers Cut Out Twitter, Facebook, And Flipboard?

Connecting content creators and consumers would be an enormous coup for news sites, magazines, TV networks, and other media. We look at three startups that could help.At magazines like Fast Company, we rely on distribution networks to get our articles to our readers. In print, the primary... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Hindu Book Controversy Grows

Amid contested reports that a second book about Hinduism by religion scholar Wendy Doniger may be withdrawn in India, a scholars group is expressing concern about a chilling effect on free inquiry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #expressing concern #chilling effect


Bechdel Reacts to 'Fun Home' Controversy in So. Carolina

Alison Bechdel responds to the cutting of government funding to a South Carolina college that assigned her graphic memoir, "Fun Home," calling the move "sad and absurd." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fun home #government funding #graphic memoir


Facebook rewards brands for tagging

Facebook is allowing to Pages to tag one another, but brands and publishers need to judicious in how they use the new feature.The post Facebook rewards brands for tagging appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


An Important Lesson for 14-Year-Old Mark Zuckerberg

Over the weekend I noticed a link to a nearly 16-year-old New York Times article appearing over and over in my Twitter feed. The piece, written by Saul Hansell and published June 9, 1998, is titled "America Online to Buy Internet Chat Service for $287 Million." In fact, the piece gained so much... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hacker news #sound familiar #paying attention


Neknominate needs health warnings on Twitter and Facebook, say councils

Local Government Association calls on websites to highlight dangers of drinking game linked to several deathsTwitter and Facebook should introduce warnings about the drinking game neknominate, which has been linked to several deaths, councils have said. The Local Government Association (LGA),... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


WhatsApp is the first of several big acquisitions for Facebook

If the announcement of Facebook paying $19 billion in cash and stock for WhatsApp surprised you then maybe you’d forgotten this prediction I published on January 8th: #6 -- Facebook transforms itself (or tries to) with a huge acquisition. I wrote long ago that we’d never see Facebook in the Dow... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big acquisitions


BuzzFeed's 'Real Women' Video Strikes Controversial Chord

How women are portrayed in photography has been a hot-button issue in publishing during the last several months. One could argue the spirited dialogue goes back a year to Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" effort, which went viral. At any rate, whether you find BuzzFeed Video's "Photoshopping Real... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #videowatch chart #chart tracks #pure views #data sources #proprietary score #helps judge #recommended videos #tv shows #movie trailers #music videos


Penguin Books India pulls controversial book on Hinduism

Penguin Books India agreed to withdraw the book from circulation in India as well as destroy every copy of the book. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Facebook must comply with German data protection law, court rules

Facebook has to comply with German data protection law, the Higher Court of Berlin ruled in a decision that directly contradicted an earlier decision by another court.The Berlin court confirmed a 2012 verdict that found that Facebook’s Friend Finder violated German law because it was unclear to... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #privacy policy #important victory #consumer groups #project manager #digital world


Facebook Withdrawal: Viral Publishers See Traffic Plunge

Publishers that rely on Facebook to drive large portions of their traffic are at constant risk of having the rug pulled out from under their feet. A recent algorithm tweak may have done just that. The post Facebook Withdrawal: Viral Publishers See Traffic Plunge appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #viral publishers


Amid Controversy, Penguin India Recalls Western Book on Hinduism

Penguin Books India has recalled American Indoligist Wendy Doniger’s book The Hindus: An Alternative History, sparking a debate about publishing freedoms. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amid controversy #alternative history


J.K. Rowling: More of her thoughts on the Harry Potter romance controversy

Harry Potter fans were incensed when J.K. Rowling said – in excerpts released from an interview –  that she'd had misgivings about Hermione and Ron as a couple. The full text of the interview offers more clarity, along with Rowling's feeling about a controversial scene from the movie series. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #interview offers #excerpts released #full text #controversial scene #movie series


J.K. Rowling: More of her thoughts on the Harry Potter romance controversy (+video)

Harry Potter fans were incensed when J.K. Rowling said – in excerpts released from an interview –  that she'd had misgivings about Hermione and Ron as a couple. The full text of the interview offers more clarity, along with Rowling's feeling about a controversial scene from the movie series. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #interview offers #excerpts released #full text #controversial scene #movie series


Paywall Lessons

In today’s industry, the paywall is just one avenue newspaper publishers are taking toward finding new revenue. Since launching its metered paywall, Globe Unlimited, in October 2012, Toronto’s Globe and Mail has seen its numbers o ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #metered paywall