Brits want to see advertisers backing quality journalism, instead of leveraging keyword blocklists to avoid appearing next to certain stories, according to research from UK publisher marketing body Newsworks.
A survey of 2,000 UK adults found that 80% of people were previously unaware that advertisers are using keyword blocking to prevent ads appearing against news stories. Having learned this information, 70% agreed advertisers should be investing more money in news brands and quality journalism instead of blocking them.
Notably, 50% of Brits don’t believe that seeing an ad next to a hard-hitting news story would make any difference, compared to the same ad appearing next to lighter news. As a result, these blocking practices are leading to advertisers missing out on being featured next to the most read news of the day (33%), being part of the day’s conversation (21%), and being part of news that readers will remember (21%).
Respondents were also asked about the types of stories they think journalists should focus on, with global conflict (57%), politics (56%), and health (53%) coming out highest. These also just so happened to be the same subjects that people thought advertisers were most likely to block.
“While debates around ad blocking largely remain within the ad industry, it is clear from this survey that consumers are concerned about the impact of blocklisting on trusted journalism,” said Jo Allan, Newsworks CEO.
“Keyword blocklists are blunt tools that fail to take nuance into account, and we appeal to advertisers to reconsider their brand safety policies when it comes trusted quality environments like news brands.”
The survey also found that most people disapprove Meta’s decision to scrap independent fact-checking teams in the US, with 79% stating that all online content should be subject to fact-checking processes to avoid the spread of misinformation.
Furthermore, 82% of respondents think advertisers should stand up to large tech platforms that allow misinformation by lowering the amount they spend with those platforms. Almost four-fifths believe tech firms should face fines if they fail to combat fake news.
