DoubleVerify will release a tool today designed to help advertisers avoid fake news sites.
The company developed the capability to filter hundreds of fake news sites after brands asked for it over the past month, said CEO and President Wayne Gattinella.
DoubleVerify also offers more than 75 brand safety filters so advertisers can avoid content with racism, hate speech, violence and other sensitive subjects.
“High-value, integrity brands in telecom, auto, travel, finance and pharma care a lot about reputation, and therefore they are more cautious about where their ads show up,” Gattinella said, adding that direct-response advertisers often focus on metrics over context.
The filter includes both conservative and liberal fake news sites, Gattinella said.
Fake news sites came under scrutiny after pundits wondered about their effect on the US presidential election. Many on the buy side have scrambled to pull their messaging from sites they consider objectionable, including fake news and hate speech.
So far, Breitbart has borne the brunt of this blacklisting. Kellogg’s withdrew advertising from the site, citing “values.” Other brands like Modcloth, SoFi, Salsify and Nest blocked Breitbart last week the Twitter account Sleeping Giants pointed out their ads were showing up on the site.
Last week, AppNexus cut off its relationship with Breitbart, citing hate speech.
DoubleVerify’s fake-news tool will filter out not just Breitbart but other sites like YoungCons, WND, Liberty Writer News and RawStory.
Gattinella sees its filter as being more scalable and consistent for brands compared to site-by-site blacklisting.
“AppNexus may take a stance on how they are filtering impressions, Facebook may take a stance on the sites they are going to allow links to on Facebook, but DoubleVerify is trying to solve this issue and protect the advertiser across the entire ecosystem,” Gattinella said.
He added that the filter will hit those sites where it hurts most: their wallet.
“Traffic to these kind of sites has more than doubled in the past couple of months. As a result, they are paid ad dollars,” Gattinella said. “[The filter] will have the effect of reducing the proliferation and long-term survival of these sites.”
Advertisers who already use DoubleVerify’s brand safety capabilities can add the filter at no charge.
