Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Tikked Off
Apparently TikTok doesn’t just feature amusing dance videos created by Gen Zers. Like its larger social media peers, TikTok was not immune to the sharing of misinformation during the election. According to The Wrap, TikTok shared in a new “transparency report” that it removed 347,225 videos in the United States over the second half of 2020 for posting “election misinformation, disinformation or manipulated media.” TikTok, however, did not share much insight into how it went about determining whether videos were spreading false election claims, only noting that it worked with fact checkers at PolitiFact, Lead Stories and SciVerify to “assess the accuracy of content and limit distribution of unsubstantiated content.” Whether the bogus claims were more in favor of former President Donald Trump or newly-minted President Joe Biden is also unclear – the report didn’t mention either by name. On top of the nearly 350,000 videos TikTok removed, another 441,028 clips were deemed ineligible for the app’s recommendations because they included unsubstantiated claims.
Private Eye
It’s hard to imagine a world without big tech, but that’s exactly what the advocacy group Economic Security Project is trying to help people do. The group has created a browser plugin called Big Tech Detective that will block any sites that reach out to IP addresses owned by Google, Facebook, Microsoft or Amazon … and it makes the internet pretty much unusable. But that’s the point. When The Verge’s Mitchell Clark used – or, more accurately, tried and failed to use – the extension for just one day, it drove home the point that it’s almost impossible to engage with the modern web while also avoiding the long arm of big tech companies. Big Tech Detective isn’t meant to keep your data private from these companies or prevent them from collecting it. But it does paint a stark picture that clearly demonstrates that if you want to use the internet without relying on these companies, you’re not going to have a good time. Fun fact: Economic Security Project co-chair Chris Hughes helped Mark Zuckerberg found Facebook when they were students at Harvard. Hughes has since changed his tune and publicly stated that Facebook is a threat to democracy that should be broken up.
Addressable Win
With advertisers and agencies increasingly turning to addressable TV to reach more targeted audiences, AMC Networks and Omnicom Media Group announced Wednesday the successful completion of two first-to-market national linear addressable campaigns. Read the release. The November and December campaigns featured Volkswagen and another major advertiser and used AMC’s partnership with Canoe Ventures to run the spots across the nation on Comcast and Charter cable systems. The campaigns reached nearly 25 million homes across the US. Future executions will also include Cox cable systems. “Our goal for 2021 and beyond is to make 100% of our linear, VOD and digital inventory addressable, with advanced cross-platform reach, measurement and sophisticated data analytics with attribution,” said Kim Kelleher, president of commercial revenue and partnerships for AMC Networks. [Related in AdExchanger: “2021 Will Be A ‘Build Year’ For Addressable TV.”]
But Wait, There’s More!
A bill to make Facebook and Google pay for news has cleared its last major hurdle in Australia. [WSJ]
Jeff Blackburn, one of the top advisors to Jeff Bezos, is leaving Amazon. [Business Insider]
And in other Amazon news, here’s why Amazon is turning to crowdsourcing to decide which smart gadgets to produce. [Adweek]
Catalina is suing Quotient, a digital media and promotion tech company, accusing it of allegedly winning Albertsons’ business using a predatory $8 million upfront cash payment. [Ad Age]
The ViacomCBS sales pitch for Paramount Plus is leaving some buyers hesitant. [Digiday]
Vevo has launched an ad-supported linear channel called Vevo Pop on Samsung TV Plus in the UK. [release]
Waze has introduced new ad solutions for small businesses. [Mobile Marketing Magazine]
Blueshift has raised a $30 million Series C to scale its customer data platform. [release]
You’re Hired!
The IAB has named Carryl Pierre-Drews as SVP of marketing and communications and Jeff Murray as VP for public policy. [release]
NextRoll has brought on Roli Saxena as president of its AdRoll Ecommerce Marketing Division. [release]
