2016 was the year that fake new came to the forefront of our minds as it was exposed by several sources of the media, as well as on social media. It was especially prevalent during the election when these fabricated news reports whet viral and the election results shocked us all. It’s shocking how easy false online information is used to manipulate behavior of all those who consume it.
It’s sad how scam artists who create and distribute these fake news stories are strongly motivated to take advantage – recent reports cite Russian hackers who stole up to $5 million a day in advertising revenue by posing as fake users in a scheme tagged by the name “Methbot.”
The ones who tend to suffer quite hard in these cases are marketers. When consumers search for information that will aid them in their purchase decisions, where they are uncertain about the information that they receive online. Online advertising is already facing challenges gaining consumer trust, but when the fact that fake content comes out in force, it only hurts marketers even more. What’s bad for marketers as well is that they will be spending money on advertising that no one will eve see, as well as having to compete in an unfair marketing. There’s a chance that they will suffer from its to their reputation or pay more than they should for marketing services or products.
Wesley Young takes a look at this trending issue and discusses ways that false information is being utilized and how local businesses and marketers can protect themselves from it. Check out the full report after following the link below!
Source – Wesley Young[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]