How Pro-Trump News Sites Use Google Ads To Spam Seniors With Terrifying Medical Misinformation

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A network of right-wing news websites is spending millions of dollars on Google ads featuring clickbait, single-question polls such as, “IS TRUMP IMPEACHMENT A WITCH-HUNT?” and “Should Hilary [sic] Clinton Finally Be Brought To Justice? VOTE NOW!”

In bold text, the polls urge people to “make your voice heard,” but make no mention of what the resulting data will be used for. That’s because it’s not the respondents’ answers that the polls are really designed to obtain — it’s their emails, which will later be spammed with horrifying health misinformation alongside pricey miracle cures.

After clicking on the Google ads — dozens of which have been viewed more than 10 million times each — people are directed to landing pages to cast their votes in the polls. In order to do so, they need to enter an email address. Fine print at the bottom of the page states that by voting, they’ll also automatically be signed up for a “free” email subscription.
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After voting in Conservative Buzz polls from a newly created email account, HuffPost started receiving no less than 20 emails per day directly from Conservative Buzz and several other little-known pro-Trump news sites, including Capital Hill Daily, Patriot Buzz, Conservative Minute and Political News Alerts. The latter notes on its website that it is owned by Dedicated Emails; the others make no such disclosures but have featured the Conservative Buzz logo in their digital communications and list the same Nevada mailing address.


So much more at the jump -

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-pro-trump-news-sites-use-google-ads-to-spam-seniors-with-terrifying-medical-misinformation_n_5e1f4c9ec5b673621f6f5101