You may have heard of the term ‘fake news’ circulating around. Like many other expressions and events, it also has been memefied.
However, the effect of fake news on digital marketing is to be taken seriously.
Websites that share misinformation often place trustworthy advertisements on their page to appear legitimate. This occurs due to large brands advertising through automated platforms. By this happening, brands can lose control of the placement of their ads, creating undesired association between the fraudulent content and the brand’s image and values.
Does the placement of the brand on the internet actually affect the perception of the viewer?
The author’s of this article conducted an experiment testing the influence that ‘fake news’ had on a brand. Participants were shown two web pages; one with the logo of a reputable news source and one known for its click-bait. Each web page had accompanying articles as well as ads from well-known car brands. It was hoped that the reputation of these cars would override the effect of fake news.
The experiment found that the the factual story posted had no real effect on the viewer’s perception of the brand’s advertisement. The fake news did. Whether it was posted on a reputable or non-reputable website, the low credibility of the article transferred across to viewer’s perception of the brand, affecting it negatively. People were less likely to speak positively about the brand or purchase its products.
With more people receiving their news from social media such as Facebook, brands need to be careful about where their ads are being placed.
Brands also need to be better understand the red flags consumers are looking for to determine whether or not they trust the content they are seeing on social media or on a website.
How do you know if you’re reading fake news? Let me know in the comments below!
THE AÇAÍ BOWL 
I think it’s difficult to determine whether it’s a fake news or not but I guess I would double check if the article is full of negativity or if it’s too good to be true.
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I think with the increased proliferation of fake news, it’s important to check the reputability of the source and also double check the information sometimes. It’s annoying as it means more work for the reader, but important if you want to make sure you’re getting the right facts
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I find it really hard to determine fake news sometimes! Think about deepfakes as well, it’s just a whole ‘nother game and we as users need to try and stay on top of it.
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