Recent evidence from the Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News lawsuit had all of us wondering: “How does Fox keep getting away with it?” We found the answer to be pretty straightforward. They pay people on the inside to protect their status as a legitimate news organization.
Let’s talk about one of Fox’s “friends”: Digital Content Next.
You may have never heard of Digital Content Next (DCN) before — but it’s a name you need to know.
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DCN is an influential trade association that lobbies for the interests of “premium” digital publishers. That means their job is to advocate for policies and practices in the ad industry that help their members earn more ad revenue.
But that’s not all. They also give Fox News access to TrustX, DCN’s very own ad exchange that they market to advertisers as “brand safe” and adhering to “the highest ethical standards.”
DCN members are some of the most trusted and well-respected media brands. Their members include Washington Post, Vox, and Politico. But they also represent Fox News and its new streaming service, Fox Nation. Yeah, it makes no sense to us either.
The reality is that through their partnership with Fox News, DCN helps secure ad dollars for the biggest voices in disinformation, including the usual suspects: Dan Bongino, Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham.
Fox Corp. earned $4B last year — and they pay DCN just $79,000 a year — to peddle Fox News as a legitimate news organization alongside PBS, AP, and USA Today.
Is our democracy that cheap?
Help make it clear to DCN that Fox News should not be represented in industry dealings as a trusted news outlet. If you haven’t already sent an email, do it now.
Today’s Action
1. Here’s your contact
Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next
2. Subject line
Please review your partnership with Fox News
3. Copy and paste this template into a new email (feel free to make it your own!)
Hi Jason,
I’m reaching out to ask whether Digital Content Next plans to continue representing Fox News following the recent revelations in the Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News briefing.
Details from the briefing reveal that Fox News’s leadership sought to manipulate the election process behind the scenes and intentionally misled viewers with election fraud conspiracies that they knew to be false. In fact, Murdoch personally shared confidential information about the Biden campaign’s ad buys with Kushner, a representative of the Trump campaign.
The definition of propaganda is “Manipulating and misleading people intentionally to achieve political ends.” Not only does this evidence meet these standards, but the company also went above and beyond to coordinate with a political party to influence the political process itself.
Digital Content Next describes itself as a partner to “high-quality digital content companies that manage trusted, direct relationships with consumers and marketers.” Your membership criteria lists multiple rules including:
- Once admitted, members must demonstrate an on-going, scrupulous commitment to best practices for Online Publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability.
- The applicant’s online content must not be inappropriate, obscene or otherwise unlawful.
- Members must have demonstrated a commitment to the highest standards of online publishing for at least one year.
It appears that Fox News violates all these rules. Do you plan to continue representing Fox News despite its egregious violations of advertiser privacy and the deceptions it has made to the public?
Looking forward to seeing you take action on this.
Thank you!