Hit Breitbart where it hurts, their pocketbooks.
By now it’s common knowledge that fake news influenced the US presidential election. As analysts have proven, “the top-performing fake election news stories on Facebook generated more engagement than the top stories from major news outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, NBC News, and others.”
The obvious next step: dismantle the fake news industry. We already know how. We need tech companies to stop treating fake news like real news. Some companies, like Facebook and Google, have already started curbing fake news, but others, like Twitter, lag behind.
Facebook and Google deserve credit for their belated efforts, but our democracy is too important to wait for other tech companies to catch up. So we’re going to give you the information you need in order to use Twitter and Facebook against the fake news industry by hitting them where it hurts, their pocketbooks.
Fake news is successful because it’s profitable. Some fake news sites earn as much as $30,000 per month through online advertising. The model works like this: every time you load a website, that website automatically notifies advertisers, who then bid to have their ad placed on your screen. The problem is that there’s no human oversight, and because there’s no human oversight, most companies don’t even realize that their ads are being placed on fake news sites and supporting white supremacists like Breitbart.
That is why a group of digital media activists have formed Sleeping Giants. Sleeping Giants uses Twitter and Facebook to notify companies that their ads are being used on the white supremacist, fake news site Breitbart.
The way it works is simple. First, they take a screenshot of the ad next to a Breitbart headline. Then they share the screenshot on Twitter or Facebook with the company tagged and ask the company to pull their ads. So far, more than 400 companies have listened.
But they need your help. Consumers need to show these companies that we stand against fake news. That is why Sleeping Giants developed AdStrike, a tool that automates the process. Go to the AdStrike website (click the link!) and share to Twitter or Facebook. You can choose which companies to notify or let AdStrike chose for you. You can use your personal account or create a buffer account. It is up to you. What matters is that it works. Over 400 companies and counting.
Check out AdStrike now!
Follow Sleeping Giants on Twitter: @slpng_giants
Follow Sleeping Giants on Facebook: @slpnggiants
