Last week, we asked you to email Magnite with a pretty straightforward question about their content policy: Why doesn’t it apply to Fox News?
Magnite didn’t respond. Instead, they started blocking your emails by keyword. Which keyword? It turns out Magnite was blocking anyone who included the words contained in their own content policy.
Here it is again:
“These are the standards our advertisers expect us to enforce across all our platforms. The bedrock of this policy is the prohibition of extreme content. As we define it, extreme content is relatively easy to recognize. It includes hateful supremacist speech, direct calls for violence or harassment, gratuitous depictions of violence, pornography, or materials that advocate illegal activities such as sexual abuse, fraud and piracy.
We also prohibit harmful disinformation, which we define as the repeated distribution of deceptive content that’s reasonably likely to cause offline harm. In other words, publishing content that’s merely false isn’t enough for us to remove a publisher under this standard. We need to see a pattern of deception around topics that are likely to get people hurt.”
But that’s not the only reason Magnite shouldn’t be working with Fox. This year, Magnite announced a partnership with media ratings company NewsGuard. Remember NewsGuard? The company that downgraded Fox News’ rating from “Green” to “Red – Proceed with Caution” back in July?
At the time, Magnite VP Tim Jasionowski said: “NewsGuard will help ensure our global exchanges offer news and information sites that meet Magnite’s standards for transparency and journalistic integrity.”
Yikes. It’s clear to us now that Magnite has picked Fox over its content policy. And frankly, they have every right to do that. They are free to choose who they partner with. What they *can’t* do is lie to advertisers about the content standards they maintain at their company. You can’t have an anti-disinformation policy and Fox News. How does that make any sense?
That’s why today, we’re calling on Magnite to remove their content policy from their website.
Content policies are policies — not marketing tools. They are meant to be enforced — or not used at all.
Will you help us get the message to Magnite?
Find the action email (written carefully to evade Magnite’s email-blocking system) below or here on Google Docs.
1. Pick out your contacts (or pick all of them!)
Tim Jasionowski, Senior Vice President of Brand Safety
Global Support Team
[email protected]
[email protected]
2. Pick your subject line
PLEASE DELETE YOUR C-O-N-T-E-N-T P-O-L-I-C-Y.
Advertise responsibly: delete your content s-t-a-n-d-a-r-d-s!
Is there a p-o-l-i-c-y exception for Fox News?
3. Copy and paste this template into a new email (feel free to make it your own!)
Hi Tim,
I’m reaching out to request that Magnite removes its content standards from its website ASAP.
In light of your ongoing partnership with Fox, it’s clear that Magnite does not enforce its policies across its platforms, as it currently promises. While I fully believe in Magnite’s right to choose its media partners, I believe that Magnite must also demonstrate honesty and integrity in the advertising industry.
As a result, it makes sense to remove your content policy and be honest with the advertising community.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
[Your Name]