Andrew Ba Tran

Mainstream advertising is still showing up on polarizing and misleading sites — despite efforts to stop it

Online advertising systems regularly put mainstream ads alongside content from the political fringes — and dollars in the pockets of those producing polarizing and politically charged headlines. This mismatch of online content and ads, which digital advertising companies have been working to fix, goes to the heart of how the Internet economy works. Tens of billions of dollars are at stake in the promises of online ad systems to match advertising pitches with receptive targets.