10/30/2019

IPG Mediabrands Partners With NewsGuard To Bring ‘Human Intelligence’ To Brand Safety, Enabling Advertisers To Support Journalism

Interpublic’s global media and data arm, IPG Mediabrands, to offer BrandGuard to clients to help them support legitimate news sites with programmatic online advertising

(LONDON AND NEW YORK—29 Oct. 2019) NewsGuard, which uses trained journalists to rate and review thousands of news and information websites for credibility and transparency practices, today announced its partnership with Interpublic Group’s global media and data agency network, IPG Mediabrands UK.

IPG Mediabrands’ UK clients will now have the option to license BrandGuard, a database of NewsGuard’s ratings, which include “Green” and “Red” ratings for each website, a credibility score, details about each site’s performance on NewsGuard’s nine journalistic criteria, and metadata relevant to advertisers.  IPG Mediabrands’ clients, which include some of the world’s most respected brands, will now be able to make sure their advertising only appears on sites that have earned NewsGuard’s Green rating, meaning that the website follows basic journalistic practices.

Since launching in Great Britain in May 2019, NewsGuard has issued ratings and reviews for the news and information websites accounting for over 92% of consumption and social media engagement in the UK.

“Just a few months after NewsGuard’s UK launch, we’re proud to partner with one of the world’s leading advertising media agencies,” said Anna-Sophie Harling, Managing Director of NewsGuard Europe, “Working with the advertising industry is a tangible way in which NewsGuard can help promote quality journalism in the UK and abroad.”

“We’re delighted to be able to work with an independent group of journalists who have a transparent, accountable ratings process. BrandGuard will help us continue to support our clients with demonstrating a public commitment to aligning with quality news that has credibility, and ensure they reach those who consume it.” said Harrison Boys, Media Standards Director, EMEA at MAGNA, IPG Mediabrands’ investment and market intelligence unit.

According to Carter Stone, who leads the BrandGuard partnerships at NewsGuard, “Now that we have a product to demonstrate it’s become clear that NewsGuard adds an important layer of protection. In a recent test with a major programmatic advertiser in the U.S.,” he said, “we were able to flag sites that would have put that advertiser more than six million times on websites alongside articles pushing everything from foreign government propaganda to 9/11 conspiracy theories to hoax cures for cancer and other diseases.”

 

Contacts:

  • Steven Brill, Co-CEO, steven.brill@newsguardtech.com, +1 212 332 6301
  • Gordon Crovitz, Co-CEO, gordon.crovitz@newsguardtech.com, +1 212 332 6407
  • Carter Stone, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, carter.stone@newsguardtech.com, +1 212 332 6316
  • Anna-Sophie Harling, Managing Director for Europe, as.harling@newsguardtech.com, +44 7733700179

About NewsGuard: Launched in March 2018 by media entrepreneur Steven Brill and former Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard provides credibility ratings and detailed “Nutrition Labels” for thousands of news and information websites that account for 96% of online engagement with news. They are conducted by trained analysts with diverse backgrounds, who review and describe the websites’ adherence to nine journalistic criteria.

NewsGuard’s ratings are available through NewsGuard’s browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari browsers and are displayed next to links in users’ search engine results and social media feeds. NewsGuard’s ratings can be licensed by advertisers and advertising companies to enable them to place programmatic advertisements on trustworthy news sources while avoiding hoaxes and misinformation. For more information, please visit www.newsguardtech.com.

About IPG Mediabrands: IPG Mediabrands is the global media and data arm of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). Today, the network manages $39 billion in marketing investment on behalf of its clients, employing over 12,000 marketing communication specialists in more than 130 countries.

Full-service and global agencies within the IPG Mediabrands network include UM and Initiative. Additional leading brands and specialist business units include Cadreon, Healix, IPG Media Lab, MAGNA, Orion Holdings, Rapport and Reprise. For more information, please visit www.ipgmediabrands.com.