Battling Fake News: The Advertising Industry in a Super Election Year

From fake news to conspiracy theories: The rampant spread of misinformation is rapidly becoming one of the biggest challenges for society - and for the advertising industry. Especially in the global super election year 2024 with voters in 60 countries heading to the polls and the German federal elections next year, in which misinformation and deepfakes will be increasingly used to stir up sentiment against political opponents and influence voters. According to Forrester Research, 82% of B2C marketing executives in the U.S. have concerns about marketing their brands during this year’s presidential election cycle. The central question is the following: How can advertisers avoid such environments to protect their brands from the growing threat of misinformation? This cannot just be a matter of simply blocking critical topics. Our industry needs a more thoughtful approach to avoiding misinformation, supporting trustworthy quality news sites and platforms as a firewall against misinformation by providing advertising money, and leveraging the latest innovations in technology to continue moving the industry in the right direction.