Stop Funding Fake News in talks with media agencies to demonetise misinformation sites

"Anonymous officials from the activist group told The Drum that for it to achieve its goals of demonetising fake news sources, it has realised it must court the middlemen between brands and publishers. Inspired by Sleeping Giants in the US and Stop Funding Hate in the UK, the group operates anonymously, claiming activists could be at risk if their identities were known."

"This is particularly beneficial for Stop Funding Fake News' cause as agencies handling multiple clients ought to be able to widely blacklist offending sites - a step-up from the brand-by-brand approach the group previously took. It said it is now expanding its network to help "persuade" ad agencies that it is "bad for their clients to be associated with the lies and racism found on these sites, so it's in the interest of ad agencies to ensure they don't put them there.""

Stop Funding Fake News is expanding its campaign from brands to advertising and media agencies to demonetise websites it deems to spread misinformation. The anonymous activist group says courting agencies is necessary because agencies act as middlemen and can apply blacklists across multiple clients, amplifying impact beyond individual brand decisions. The group cites inspiration from Sleeping Giants and Stop Funding Hate and reports that around 40 brands and charities have blocked certain sites since March 2019. The group highlights harms of misinformation, links to deaths and lucrative clickbait incentives, and invites agency representatives to contact [e-mail].

Read at The Drum