Peer39 this month announced the integration of NewsGuard’s database of trust ratings for thousands of news and information websites. Peer39 says the database adds a layer of protection for advertisers using Peer39, as they can target their ad campaigns on thousands of trusted news sources while avoiding misinformation sources flagged by NewsGuard.
“The relationship between advertiser and publisher needs to be built on trust and credibility, but deceitful, opportunistic publishers of fake news have led advertisers to hold money back, even from legitimate content, out of fear about content credibility,” said Peer39 CEO Mario Diez. “This partnership allows advertisers to invest in the News category with full confidence, knowing that they have detailed page-level intelligence, at scale, with the most rigorous data on source quality available for news websites built right in.”
According to Peer39, the data set covers all the news and information sites that account for 95% of online engagement in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Italy and includes flags for specific categories of false news, such as health misinformation, conspiracy theories and hoax stories.
“Without a good way to determine reliability of news content, many advertisers have simply chosen to avoid advertising on news content altogether,” said NewsGuard Co-CEO Gordon Crovitz. “This is bad for the financially challenged journalism industry, bad for democracy and bad for public health. It’s also a missed opportunity for those brands to reach valuable and engaged audiences. Advertisers using our new offering with Peer39 can avoid running campaigns on all of those sites with the check of a box in their DSP.”