(Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris has been rewriting headlines in Google search ads to make them appear even more favorable to her campaign.
The altered headlines appear as suggested advertisements near the top of Google’s search results about the 2024 election and include a “Paid for by Harris for President” disclaimer. They link back to legitimate articles published by various outlets, but the headlines and descriptions have been deliberately changed to portray Harris in a positive light.
The outlets whose headlines have been altered—including the Guardian, Reuters, CBS News, the Associated Press and PBS—said Harris’s campaign did not request permission to use or revise their content, according to Axios.
“While we understand why an organization might wish to align itself with the Guardian’s trusted brand, we need to ensure it is being used appropriately and with our permission,” a Guardian spokesperson said in a statement. “We’ll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice.”
In one paid ad, the Harris campaign took an article from the Guardian and changed its headline to read, “VP Harris Fights Abortion Bans – Harris Defends Repro Freedom,” along with a description underneath that read, “VP Harris is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump’s abortion bans.”
An article from NPR had its headline changed to “Harris Will Lower Health Costs,” along with the description reading, “Kamala Harris will lower the cost of high-quality affordable health care.”
One from Reuters was altered to read “Inflation is Down,” with the description, “Under the Biden-Harris administration, ‘The U.S. is winning the inflation fight.’”
In an initial statement, Google said the Harris ads don’t violate the company’s policies since they are prominently labeled as “sponsored” and are therefore “easily distinguishable from search results.”
A Google spokesperson added that it’s “fairly common for advertisers to link out to or cite external websites, including news sites, in their ads.”
However, Google walked that back on Wednesday, telling Fox News that a “glitch” in its system allowed Harris to distort the headlines.
NEW: Google blames a “glitch” for how the Harris campaign was able to trick internet users into thinking reputable news sites were giving Kamala favorable reporting.
It’s really weird how these “glitches” always seem to benefit the left.
Axios released a report revealing how… pic.twitter.com/eINxn5sKMp
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 14, 2024
