Selling Slop
AI-generated slop content is growing exponentially online, making it easier than ever for bad actors to create junk sites and earn ad dollars from unsuspecting brands.
DoubleVerify recently exposed more than 200 sports news websites that host a mix of AI-generated slop and content stolen from legit sites, Wired reports.
In many cases, these junk sites use domain names that closely mimic the domains of well-known sites – “BBC Sportss” or “NBC Sportz,” for example. According to DoubleVerify, they zero in on sports content because advertisers consider it more brand safe than hard news.
The slop is apparently fooling programmatic ad tech. Wired reports that many of the sites featured banner ads served by Criteo and Sharethrough. And major brands, including Asana, Oracle and Sephora, have all placed ads on these sites.
And don’t expect the problem to go away anytime soon. The popularity of generative AI tech is allowing these content mills to proliferate. As of February 2024, NewsGuard had identified 725 news sites filled with AI junk; by this month, that number has grown to 1,150.
“This kind of low-quality content isn’t really new,” says Gilit Saporta, DV’s senior director of fraud analytics products. “But it’s so much easier to replicate and scale with these current tools.”
All The News That’s Fit To Post
Marketers and content creators have already started strategizing for a post-TikTok future. And as Adweek reports, publishers and new organizations are, too.
Not surprisingly, most larger outlets already diversified their vertical video distribution ages ago. They now regularly cross-publish content on YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Snapchat. It makes sense. If you’ve got one video, why not put it everywhere?
Still, according to the Pew Research Center, 17% of US adults regularly get their news from TikTok, which means that outlets can’t abandon those users entirely. Instead, they’re putting effort into making sure those users know where else to find them.
So far, YouTube Shorts might be the frontrunner for creators, one agency source tells Adweek. Anecdotal evidence from The Washington Post – Did you hear? WaPo says it’s for “All of America” now! – seems to corroborate this. WaPo’s director of video, Micah Gelmen, says the publisher’s Shorts presence has already started growing more quickly than other non-TikTok channels.
That may be good news for marketers who’ve already started experimenting with YouTube’s ad targeting capabilities. But it certainly won’t capture the same community feeling that TikTok does. After all, does anybody go on YouTube to see what their friends are talking about?
The 2025 Crystal Ball
Ad spend continues to grow – but maybe not as quickly as last year.
Whereas ad spend surged in 2024 thanks in large part to the Paris Olympics and the US presidential election, the IAB predicts “modest growth” of 7.3% for the ad ecosystem in 2025.
Video, social and retail advertising are, unsurprisingly, the fastest-growing ad mediums.
Retail media is expected to grow 15.6% this year, twice the rate of overall ad spend, according to the IAB’s 2025 outlook report, released Thursday. CTV ad spend, meanwhile, should see 13.8% growth compared to last year, while social is forecasted to grow 11.9%. Compared to last year, when the IAB predicted social video would outpace CTV, it appears that streaming is getting some of its mojo back.
“Advertisers are starting the year looking for growth, and investing in channels that drive the most meaningful business results,” said IAB CEO David Cohen in a statement about the report.
Also this year, according to the IAB, roughly 80% of buyers are either using or exploring generative AI in media planning and activation.
But Wait! There’s More
Outgoing FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel rejects four petitions to revoke the broadcast licenses of TV news outlets, saying such efforts “seek to curtail freedom of the press.” [CNN]
The Washington Post sets what it calls a “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” to grow its paid user base from less than three million to 200 million. [NYT]
Google’s ambition for 2025 is to catch up to ChatGPT. [WSJ]
The vibes on Meta aren’t right, soon-to-be-former TikTok creators say. [Marketing Brew]
The FTC finalizes its update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule minimizing data collection online from children under 13. [Bloomberg Law]
You’re Hired
Prebid brings on Zach Savishinsky as its fractional CTO. [release]
European telco-focused ad tech company Utiq hires Pagel Colin as director of global clients and Thomas Bailly as director of global agencies. [release]
