Enterprise Devoted to Alleviating 'Online Toxicity Predicament' Generates Revenue from The Daily Caller and Ben Shapiro's Platforms
Upon visiting the Daily Caller's website, you'll notice it's plastered with ads. Seven, to be exact, including ads for Benefiber, a scientifically-backed fiber supplement; a $120 pillow promising to alleviate acid reflux; and advertisements for groceries and Oculus charging cables. It's safe to assume that the pleated shorts advertiser is oblivious to the fact their product is appearing on such a polarizing platform. The Daily Caller's website, co-founded by Tucker Carlson, is filled with algorithmically chosen ads overseen by various ad-serving companies, some of whom are less than truthful about their practices.
One of these misleading ad-tech firms is OpenWeb, which positions itself as a solution to online toxicity, claiming to bring "quality conversations" to publishers and hate-free content to advertisers. They've garnered significant funding and high-profile clients in the process, such as Scott Galloway, a noted marketing professor and critic of the Reddit subreddit r/ wallstreetbets. However, a Gizmodo investigation revealed OpenWeb's technology also serves ads on politically charged corners of the internet, seemingly profiting from this divisive content.
Marketing expert and cofounder of a consultancy dedicated to eliminating fake news and far-right websites, Claire Atkin, expressed concern over this domino effect: "Individuals in adtech will jump to say, 'I voted Dem,' or 'I worked for Obama,' and say they care deeply about the state of America—including the rise of extremism, racism, white supremacy, and the like. But they don't realize that their inability to draw a line for what's not okay on their platforms is what's actually driving the issue." Different companies have reasons for refusing to implement such boundaries. Sometimes, it's a matter of maximizing profits, while others fear alienating conservative clients. Lastly, there's a libertarian stance, viewing adtech as the internet's plumbing, suggesting neutrality.
Adtech is a $455 billion dollars industry under scrutiny by regulatory bodies. A study published by a UK trade group determined that approximately half of each ad dollar goes to the website, a third to tech intermediaries, and the remaining 15% vanishes into a black hole, making it challenging to pinpoint where every cent ends up. Adtech organizations, plagued by lies and poor oversight, have attempted to self-regulate, but this effort has largely failed due to the complexities of maintaining standards throughout the vast adtech stack.
Advertisers are often too busy coping with slim margins and vulnerable to manipulation by adtech intermediaries, who can overcharge and misrepresent their roles in the supply chain. In 2020, an attempt to pull ad dollars from Facebook during a "boycott" endeavor faltered, leading to OpenWeb's rebranding as a safe haven for brands striving for increased brand safety. They claimed to address issues of racism and hate by providing a community engagement platform enhancing website comments with "polls, live feeds, and a ton of other perks" to keep readers engaged and clicking, all while bringing in additional revenue via targeted ads.
From reviewing OpenWeb's public ledger, it appears that they are operating on several politically charged websites, including Ben Shapiro's conservative FactCheck.org and Breitbart News, which has been accused of spreading misinformation. When asked about these sites, OpenWeb's COO admitted wrongdoings but didn't disclose much about the decision-making process for approving these controversial sites. Instead, the responsibility falls on nameless algorithms, which group sites into categories like "conspiracies" or "fake news," indirectly determining which websites are non-toxic enough to receive ad revenue.
- Despite the concerns raised by marketing expert Claire Atkin about the role of adtech in promoting extremism and hate speech, companies in this $455 billion dollar industry often prioritize profits over implementing boundaries.
- In the future, tech companies like OpenWeb, which aims to provide quality conversations and hate-free content to advertisers, may face increased scrutiny for serving ads on politically charged websites.
- Compiling data on the adtech industry's practices, such as the distribution of ad revenue, can be challenging due to the involvement of various intermediaries and the complexities of maintaining standards throughout the adtech stack.
- In an effort to boost brand safety and engagement, advertisers like OpenWeb have introduced new features, such as interactive polls and live feeds, which can generate additional revenue through targeted ads, a strategy that could potentially be hilariously misaligned with the content of the politically charged websites they serve.