An investigation has revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has been using fake news headlines in its Google search ads. 

That's according to a report from Axios, which provided examples of how the campaign featured edited headlines from multiple news organizations in its advertisements.

Edited headline calls Harris "a champion for reproductive freedom"

Axios contributor Sara Fischer described the edits as something which reflects "a common practice in the commercial advertising world" and "doesn't violate Google's policies."

Harris-sponsored Google ads suggest publishers are on her side https://t.co/iPVOd2sBti

— Axios (@axios) August 13, 2024

However, Fischer pointed out that the Harris campaign's behavior has left some news organizations "caught off guard," including the UK's Guardian.

One example featured a story from the Guardian with a new headline which read, "VP Harris is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump's abortion bans."

Other news organizations were unaware of changes to their headlines

A spokesperson for the newspaper was quoted as saying, "While we understand why an organization might wish to align itself with the Guardian's trusted brand, we need to ensure it is being used appropriately and with our permission."

The spokesperson went on to add that the Guardian will "be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice."

Meanwhile, spokespeople for CNN, USA Today and NPR all indicated that they were unaware that the Harris campaign had made use of their brands for advertising purposes.

Fischer noted that while the ads do say they are sponsored content, "it's not immediately clear that the text that accompanies real news links is written by the campaigns and not by the media publication itself."

However, a Google spokesperson defended the practice, saying, "Election advertisers are required to complete an identity verification process and we prominently display in-ad disclosures that clearly show people who paid for the ad."

Head of watchdog group says headline editing can create an impression of bias

For its part, Facebook prohibits advertising from manipulating news headlines as part of what it calls "continuing efforts to stop the spread of misinformation and false news."

John Gable is co-founder and CEO of AllSides, a nonpartisan firm dedicated to rating media bias and he takes issue with allowing advertisers to change headlines.

"Some of these news organizations might not want to be positioned as promoting one campaign, and this implies that they have a bias towards that campaign, potentially," Gable told Axios.