Advertisers, it’s time to face facts. Because truth matters

This year has already got off to a dramatic start when it comes to fake news and facts. Or a lack of them.

In week one alone, Apple’s AI news alerts showcased to the world how its tech is helping to create and spread fake news, in its wake damaging the journalistic reputation of the BBC. 

Only days later, this story was overshadowed by Meta’s announcement that it was doing away with its third-party fact checkers in the US, while making worrying changes to its DEI policies. 

As Joe Biden warned in his farewell address before handing over the US Presidency to Donald Trump, there is a “dangerous concentration of technology power and wealth” and with it, a threat to democracy, distrust and division, as we are “buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation… the truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit… we must hold the social platforms accountable."

It has to be said, some of the Trumpian language from Mark Zuckerberg of Meta about “masculine energy” and the need “to celebrate aggression a bit more”—coupled with the departure of Meta’s global policy chief Nick Clegg—is a clear nod to the company’s new direction of travel.

We all know what happened at another social media platform when the moderators were dropped: More falsehoods. More harmful content. And more and more marketers walked away. 

If this new “masculine” approach results in a rise in nefarious and misleading content with no moderation, will advertisers respond?

There certainly seems to be a nervousness about what is going on. According to the Financial Times, multiple advertising bosses have already raised their concerns about the removal of fact checkers and the possibility of their brands appearing next to toxic content. 

The pursuit of facts and the truth should weigh most heavily in our minds because unchecked, fake news spreads far too quickly across the internet. And often with the most serious of consequences, and none of them good.

Could this then be a tipping point? Over the past six months, there has been much more talk across the industry about the importance and benefits of trusted environments that are professionally curated, crafted and regulated—whether that’s TV, radio or news brands. 

Encouragingly, since the start of the year at Newsworks we have seen a noticeable increase in people from agencies downloading and reading our Fact not Fake and Trust studies.