>> THE TERM FAKE NEWS IS THROWN AROUND QUITE A BIT THESE DAYS,
BUT WHAT PEOPLE MIGHT NOT REALIZE IS THAT THERE'S BIG
MONEY BEING MADE WHEN FAKE STORIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA GO
VIRAL.
THE AD-TECH SIDE CAN BE COMPLICATED, SO I SOUGHT ANSWERS
FROM TWO UMASS RESEARCHERS -- JOSHUA BRAUN, A WHO IS ALSO A
PROFESSOR IN THE JOURNALISM DEPARTMENT, AND HIS RESEARCH
PARTNER JESS EKLUND -- AND ASKED THEM TO BREAK IT ALL DOWN FOR
US.
>> IN THE WAKE OF THE 2016 ELECTION YOU SAW A LOT OF NEWS
COVERAGE OF BASICALLY PEOPLE WHO HAD PUT OUT HOAX NEWS STORIES OR
FAKE COVERAGE OF THE ELECTION THAT CONTAINED COUNTER-FACTUAL
INFORMATION AND THAT THEY HAD MADE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF THE
MONEY.
SO PEOPLE WERE MAKING 20,000, $30,000 OFF OF THESE WEBSITES
AND HERE WERE DOING SO BASICALLY BY SELLING ADVERTISING ON THEIR
PAGES SO IF YOU VISITED WITH WHICH THESE SORT OF HOAX SITES,
YOU KNOW, AN AD WAS DISPLAYED TO YOU AND THE PERSON PUBLISHING
THE PAGE MADE SOME MONEY OFF OF THAT.
SO WHATEVER SORT OF ENDED UP HAPPENING WITH RESPECT TO, YOU
KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT HOAX NEWS MIGHT HAVE HAD AN INFLUENCE ON
THE ELECTION OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES, WHAT I WAS REALLY
INTERESTED IN 'CAUSE I'M SORT OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE PERSON WHAT IS
THE SETUP -- HOW IS IT THAT -- THAT THE SORT OF
ADVERTISING INDUSTRY HAD CREATED THESE STRANGE OR PERVERSE
INCENTIVES FOR PUBLISHING FRAUDULENT INFORMATION AND SO I
HAPPENED TO HAVE LIKE A GREAT COLLABORATOR RESEARCH ASSISTANT
COMING IN AT THE TIME WHO WAS INTERESTED IN THESE TOPICS AND
WE DECIDED IT WAS SOMETHING TO LOOK INTO.
>> HOW DID YOU SET OUT THE RESEARCH, YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS
YOU INTERVIEWED AND HOW YOU PROCEEDED FOR THAT.
>> WE LOOKED AT BROWSER CRAWLS AND LOOKED AT HOAX NEWS SITES
AND LOOKED AT HOW THEY WERE PUBLISHING THEIR ADS AND THEN WE
ALSO INTERVIEWED, I THINK, ABOUT 72 -- YEAH, AROUND 20 PEOPLE WHO
WORKED IN THE INDUSTRY AND TRADE ORGANIZATIONS AND ALSO PEOPLE
WHO WORKED AT THE ACTUAL PLATFORMS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT
PUBLISH ADS OR TARGET USERS.
>> OKAY.
GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF WITH WHICH THOSE FAKE NEWS STORIES THAT
CAME ACROSS YOUR -- OR YOU CAME ACROSS IN YOUR RESEARCH.
>> SO A LOT OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY CUT AND PASTED ACROSS DIFFERENT
SITES SO YOU MIGHT ENCOUNTER THE SAME ARTICLES LIKE HILLARY
WARRANT YOUR PEACE DEBATES AND YOU MIGHT CRENTHOSE MULTIPLE
TIMES ACROSS DIFFERENT WEBSITES.
IN TERMS OF, LIKE, WHAT THE COURAGE LOOKED LIKE IT KIND OF
INSPIRED US TO START ANOTHER PROJECT.
I'LL GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE "THE WASHINGTON POST" WAS REPORTING
THAT SORT OF A RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE HAD SET UP A HOAX NEWS
WEBSITE WITH THE STORY THAT SOMEWHERE IN OHIO AN ELECTRICAL
WORKER FOUND PREFILLED BALLOTS THAT WERE BASICALLY GOING TO GO
INTO HILLARY AND BE STUFFED IN BALLOT BOXES ON ELECTION DAY AND
SO I THINK THAT STORY MADE SOMETHING, LIKE, $20,000 IN AD
REVENUE WHILE IT WAS IN ITS MOST POPULAR PHASE.
THE WEBSITE THAT IT WAS PUBLISHED ON BECAUSE IT GOT
APPRAISED FOR 6 FIGURES, BASICALLY, IT WAS RECEIVING SO
MUCH TRAFFIC THAT BASICALLY IF THE PROPRIETOR DECIDED THEY
WANTED TO SELL THE DOMAIN NAME WHO WAS INTERESTED IN TAKING
OVER A SUCCESSFUL WEBSITE THEY COULD GET 6 FIGURES DURING ITS
PEAK TRAFFIC PERIOD SO CLEARLY, PEOPLE WERE MAKING IN SORT OF
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CASES A LOT OF MONEY OFF OF THIS AND IT WAS
SOMETHING THAT KIND OF WAS -- WE CERTAINLY WANTED TO LOOK INTO.
>> AND EXPLAIN HOW THE WHOLE PROCESS WORKS AS FAR AS THE
ADVERTISEMENTS AND FOLLOWING THE MONEY AND HOW THIS IS ALL SET
UP.
>> SO BASICALLY IN THE OLD DAYS, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WANTED TO
REACH SOMEBODY WITH AN ADVERTISEMENT YOU'D TYPICALLY GO
TO THE PUBLICATION THAT WAS THE BEST KIND OF PROXY FOR THE
AUDIENCE THAT YOU WANTED SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, FOR
EXAMPLE, SELLING SUIT CASES OR LUGGAGE YOU MIGHT ADVERTISE IN A
TRAVEL MAGAZINE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT UNDER THE ASSUMPTION
THAT PEOPLE BUYING THE TRAVEL MAGAZINE WILL BE THE PEOPLE WHO
ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE IN THE MARKET FOR SUITCASES.
TODAY, THOUGH, WITH THE AMOUNT OF THE TRACKING THAT'S DONE
ONLINE, THE AMOUNT THAT'S SORT OF ADVERTISERS, THAT THEIR AD
AGENCIES CAN KNOW ABOUT YOU BY YOUR BROWSER BEHAVIOR WHAT'S
OFTEN DONE YOU'LL USE AN INDIVIDUAL OR PEOPLE WHO LOOK
LIKE YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL FROM THEIR BEHAVIOR ONLINE WILL BE
TARGETED BASED ON THEIR BROWSING HISTORY AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE
FAMILIAR WITH THE EXPERIENCE WHERE IF YOU VIEW A FLOWER POT
ON HOME DEPOT WEBSITE YOU HAVE FLOWER POT ADS THAT FOLLOW YOU
FOR WEEKS AND THE BIG PROPOSITION FOR ADVERTISERS IS
BASICALLY TO BE ABLE TO REACH THE DESIRABLE USERS WHEREVER
THEY ARE ON THE WEB AND THAT'S ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH SOMETHING
CALLED PROGRAMMATIC ADVERTISING SO BASICALLY IT'S AN AUTOMATED
AUCTION.
IT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LOAD A WEB PAGE WHERE THE PUBLISHER OF THE
WEB PAGE IS PUTTING UP SOME AD SPACES FOR SALE AND
ADVERTISERS -- AND ADVERTISERS ARE BIDDING FOR YOUR ATTENTION
BASED ON WHAT THEY KNOW ABOUT YOU, THE USERS USING TUSER USIN
THE PAGE AND BY THE TIME YOU HAVE LOADED THE WEB PAGE THE AD
HAS DISPLACED TO YOU.
>> OUT OF THE ADVERTISERS THAT YOU SPOKE WITH, WHAT WAS THEIR
REACTION?
>> WELL, THE BRANDS WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY FIND OUT THAT
I DON'T WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS KIND OF CONTENT BUT
WHEN SELLING THE SPACE A LOT OF TIMES IN ADVERTISING YOU WANT TO
GET THAT DESIRED USER AT THE LOWEST COST SO IF YOU CAN GET
THAT USER WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, A LESS DESIRABLE
WEBSITE, THAT'S GOING TO BE YOUR IDEAL SITUATION.
SO AS OPPOSED TO PAYING FOR PRIME SPACE SOMEWHERE ELSE ON
THE WEB.
>> AS A PROFESSOR IN JOURNALISM AT UMASS, HOW DOES THIS
UNDERMINE, YOU KNOW, THE NEWS MEDIA?
>> SO THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU COULD
ARGUE THAT SORT OF FAKE NEWS OR HOAX NEWS WEBSITES UNDERMINE
THIS BUT ONE OF THE BIG THINGS A LOT OF THESE HOAX WEBSITES THE
PROFIT-DRIVEN ONE WERE ENGAGED IN FRAUD.
A LOT OF THE TRAFFIC THAT WENT TO THEM WAS NOT EVEN HUMAN
TRAFFIC.
IT WAS -- OR IT WAS NOT VISITORS WHO WERE LEGITIMATELY
INTERESTED.
IT MIGHT BE CLICK WORKERS IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES WHO ARE
PAID TO GET ON ADS OR BOTS LOADING THE WEB PAGE SO THAT FON
LIKE FRAUD LIKE COLLECTIVELY SIPHONS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OUT
OF THE ADVERTISING MARKET THAT WOULD, OTHERWISE, IN MANY CASES
GO TO SORT OF REPUTABLE JOURNALISM SO IN ADDITION TO
SORT OF INTRODUCING LOTS OF DISINFORMATION INTO THE SORT OF
PUBLIC SPHERE AND INCENT ADVERTISING DISINFORMATION
BECAUSE IT'S PROFITABLE IT'S ACTUALLY IN SOME CASES ACTIVELY
TAKING PROFITS OR MONEY -- TAKING MONEY OUT OF THE
ADVERTISING ECOSYSTEM THAT WOULD, OTHERWISE, GO TO
TRADITIONAL OR AD-SUPPORTED JOURNALISM SO IT'S PROBLEMATIC
ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT FRONTS.
>> AND WAS THERE ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR THAT STRUCK YOU AS
YOU WERE DOING THIS RESEARCH.
>> MOSTLY ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF THE PLAYERS THAT ARE IN THE
SYSTEM AND HOW THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, DISINCENTIVE OR PEOPLE
WHO ARE IN THE SYSTEM WHO WANT TO TAKE ACTION ON IT.
MOSTLY, THE ABILITY TO, LIKE, POINT OF FINGERS SOMEONE ELSE IN
THE CHAIN TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM SO THE ADVERTISER COULD POINT TO
THE PERSON WHO IS SELLING THE AD SPACE OR -- THEN THEY COULD SAY
WELL, IT'S A TRADE ORGANIZATION'S PROBLEM TO SOLVE,
STUFF LIKE THAT.
THERE BEING SO MANY PEOPLE INVOLVED WHO WILL FIX IT.