Misinformation and misleading content are some of the main problems that digital advertising faces. Therefore, it is a challenge that companies in the sector must face and learn to overcome in order to have optimal strategies.
This is according to the report ' Misinformation & Media Quality ' by Integral Ad Science (IAS) . For the research, a survey was conducted among more than 500 professionals in the sector, including brands, agencies, media and technology providers.
The report, which was published in collaboration with YouGov , highlights how misinformation is affecting the digital advertising industry. It also explores the challenges that misleading content poses to brands’ media strategies, as well as the measures advertisers are taking to protect their campaigns against these threats.
1. Blocking, the most commonly used method to prevent advertising from appearing alongside misleading content
The vast majority of media experts, 73%, agree that fake news should be proactively avoided . However, less than half, 47%, say their organizations have clear guidelines on this for digital advertising .
Large-scale blocking is the most commonly used method to prevent campaigns from lebanon number data appearing alongside misleading content. Nearly half of media experts (45%) plan to block entire categories of content, while 43% would block specific topics and 38% would block specific geographic locations where misinformation is common.
that strategies based on contextual targeting are being underused . These allow buyers and sellers of digital advertising to avoid appearing next to misinformation and have a minimal impact on the reach of campaigns.
Less than a third of respondents (32%) currently use or plan to use contextual technology and audience targeting systems . Less than a fifth (18%) take advantage of segments that prevent unwanted advertising from being inserted into the bidding stream before or after the bid.
2. The threat of misinformation and fake news is growing
Total media advertising spending is expected to reach around $350 billion this year . However, there are unintentional losses of advertising investment by brands that end up on global disinformation sites. According to the 'Global Disinformation Index' (GDI), this amounts to at least $235 million.
In addition, it is noted that most marketing experts agree that the spread of misinformation has been fueled by recent global events. To be specific, the study points out that the volume of misinformation has increased due to political polarization (76%), recent geopolitical events (68%) and the COVID-19 pandemic (62%).