Google Database of Political Ads Is Fraught With Missing Content, Delays

Date
Publication
The Wall Street Journal

“If even the political advertisers that expect to be included in the archive are not seeing their ads made publicly available, how much is escaping disclosure by actors who want to stay secret?” said Brendan Fischer, director of federal reform at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. The extent of the discrepancies couldn’t be fully determined. Google’s database has logged more than 115,000 ads. For the political campaigns, including a crowded field of 2020 presidential hopefuls, database inaccuracies are making it harder to track rivals at a time when digital advertising is central for campaigns looking to target voters more economically than through television advertising.

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