Newsweek Publisher Caught Defrauding Gov Agency In Ad Revenue Scheme | Zero Hedge
Description: "Ads purchased by the CFPB were displayed to an audience that includes a significant amount of "cheap junk traffic with a share of bots."

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# Newsweek Publisher Caught Defrauding Gov Agency In Ad Revenue Scheme

A scheme by the publisher of Newsweek and the International Business Times to buy fraudulent traffic in order to help secure a major ad contract from a US government agency has come to light in a new report released by independent ad fraud researchers.

According to the report, IBTimes.com won a major video and display advertising contract from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) - a federal oversight agency created six years ago as the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren. Social Puncher, a consulting firm that investigates online ad fraud, notes in its report that "ads purchased by the CFPB were displayed to an audience that includes a significant amount of "cheap junk traffic with a share of bots" - effectively defrauding the agency.

socialpuncher.com

> When it comes to IBT’s fraudulent traffic practices, Social Puncher’s findings align with reporting from BuzzFeed News on IBT India, and with separate data gathered by Pixalate, an ad fraud detection company, and DoubleVerify, a digital media measurement company. (Social Puncher and BuzzFeed News previously collaborated on ad fraud investigations, but worked separately in this case.)

> Based on what it described as a detailed investigation, DoubleVerify this week classified IBT’s US, UK, India, and Singapore sites as “as having fraud or sophisticated invalid traffic,” according COO Matt McLaughlin. DoubleVerify is now blocking all ad impressions on these sites on behalf of customers.

> In response to questions from BuzzFeed News, Newsweek Media Group, the parent company of IBT, acknowledged it purchases audiences from ad networks that sell pop-up and pop-under traffic. It said this traffic represents a “small percentage of traffic on our sites” and denied any fraudulent activity. -Buzzfeed

“We use third-party platforms to verify and filter this traffic to ensure it is of the highest quality. This verification process prevents poor-quality traffic being redirected to our sites and we consistently score highly on various third-party ad verification platforms,” the company said. It declined to name the third-party verification partners it works with.

The CFPB, now headed by Trump appointee Mick Mulvaney, told BuzzFeed News that the bureau is looking into the allegations.

“We take allegations of fraud very seriously. Acting Director Mulvaney is actively looking into the work done by GMMB, and these allegations [of ad fraud by IBTimes.com] will be investigated as part of that process,” the spokesperson said.

Mick Mulvaney
socialpuncher.com

The CFPB has come under fire in recent months after it was discovered that the agency established a "secret slush fund" to funnel penalties collected from defendants to Democrat causes.

A consultant who worked with the highly politicized Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) claims the organization funneled a large portion of over $5 billion in collected penalties to "community organizers aligned with Democrats" as part of a giant slush fund, the Post reported in early December.

> [The CFPB] Funneled a large portion of the more than $5 billion in penalties collected from defendants to community organizers aligned with Democrats — “a slush fund by another name,” said a consultant who worked with CFPB on its Civil Penalty Fund and requested anonymity.

Created six years ago as the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren and slipped into the Dodd Frank bill before it was passed by Congressional Democrats, the CFPB became one of the most powerful agencies in D.C., with the ability to exercise enormous power over the U.S. economy while its budget remained unencumbered by congressional oversight. As one Hill writer put it:

> The problem is that this agency and its director were set up to be free from the control of the Congress. Congress’s fundamental obligation to oversee and fund such bureaus or agencies is short-circuited when it comes to the CFPB. In structuring it in the manner written by now-Sen. Warren (D-Mass.), the law abrogated the idea of a government by the people, for the people and of the people.

> Instead, it established an autocratic and unaccountable power center for people of Warren’s ideological persuasion — those who view our market economy as an enemy that must be managed by a chosen few. The creation of the CFPB as a rogue agency with a dictatorial leader is one of the most significant acts of malfeasance perpetrated on the American constitutional system since the Sedition Acts of 1798.

> The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, has been a total disaster as run by the previous Administrations pick. Financial Institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public. We will bring it back to life!

> — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017

With the reins of the CPFB handed over to Mick Mulvaney in December following the resignation of Obama-era Director Richard Cordray, it appears that IBTimes.com's government-funed gravy train has just been derailed.

Tags
Politics
Business Finance
Digital Media Agencies
Advertising & Marketing - NEC

## Comments

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Catahoula Feb 1, 2018 11:48 PM Permalink

Good stuff!

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robertsgt40 Catahoula Feb 1, 2018 11:52 PM Permalink

30 lashes with a wet noodle.

In reply to Good stuff! by Catahoula

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ACP robertsgt40 Feb 2, 2018 12:15 AM Permalink

You know it's bad when the fake news isn't enough and they have to buy fake clicks too.

In reply to 30 lashes with a wet noodle. by robertsgt40

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overbet ACP Feb 2, 2018 12:30 AM Permalink

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defrauded. Hysterical. Wouldn't that be like the SEC investing in a ponzi?

In reply to You know it's bad when the… by ACP

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Troll Magnet overbet Feb 2, 2018 12:52 AM Permalink

Leave Pocahontas alone, goddammit! She’s a minority!

In reply to Consumer Financial… by overbet

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hooligan2009 Troll Magnet Feb 2, 2018 2:22 AM Permalink

a minority in her own lunchtime - still stealing 5 billion from joe sixpack to pay for illegal immigration and sponsored drug absue to the majority of mexican gangs is more of a legend than a minority.

will the republicans switch funding to vigiliane groups rounding up illegals and cleaning the shit off the streets in downtown LA?

In reply to Leave Pocahontas alone,… by Troll Magnet

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JRobby hooligan2009 Feb 2, 2018 6:38 AM Permalink

This all has to end. We need to cut GOVT in half and then in half again once we figure out how large it actually is.

In reply to a minority in her own… by hooligan2009

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IntercoursetheEU overbet Feb 2, 2018 12:53 AM Permalink

Government caught defrauding the entire country for the last century, minor part of the story here.

In reply to Consumer Financial… by overbet

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Fed-up with be… overbet Feb 2, 2018 4:07 AM Permalink

This might be very similar to Cops pulling over people and "asking for donations to the PAL." OH, that would NEVER HAPPEN.

In reply to Consumer Financial… by overbet

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incharge1976 ACP Feb 2, 2018 2:06 AM Permalink

The probablem is mainly ad blockers. Too many people are using them and killing views, clicks, and overall revenue.

In reply to You know it's bad when the… by ACP

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U4 eee aaa incharge1976 Feb 2, 2018 2:26 AM Permalink

Yes, blame the people who are sick of ads shoved down their throats at every turn. Especially those video ads that automatically play when you show up and blast the sound high enough to give you a heart attack. Why would people want to block something like that?

In reply to The probablem is mainly ad… by incharge1976

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U4 eee aaa ACP Feb 2, 2018 2:24 AM Permalink

bought with fake money from a fake government

In reply to You know it's bad when the… by ACP

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A Sentinel Feb 1, 2018 11:52 PM Permalink

Just undo it.

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Jethro Feb 1, 2018 11:53 PM Permalink

Cut all federal funding to all media.

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just the tip Feb 1, 2018 11:56 PM Permalink

one of the most significant acts of malfeasance perpetrated on the American constitutional system since the Sedition Acts of 1798.

fuck me. and here i thought it was the creation of the fed.

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JesseL Feb 1, 2018 11:59 PM Permalink

Thank God for Ad Bockers.

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I Write Code Feb 2, 2018 12:11 AM Permalink

What do you expect for one dollar.

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alter_ Feb 2, 2018 12:22 AM Permalink

Trump needs to sign an anti-propaganda, anti-fake-news bill to make these propagandists bankrupt.

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swamp alter_ Feb 2, 2018 12:45 AM Permalink

Just stop funding them with our tax dollars and they will go bankrupt.

In reply to Trump needs to sign an anti… by alter_

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FoggyWorld Feb 2, 2018 1:02 AM Permalink

Odd that I read just several hours ago that Steve Jobs widow is thinking about buying Buzzfeed. Hope she finds out about this story and hasn't put any money down.

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Twee Surgeon Feb 2, 2018 1:20 AM Permalink

"cheap junk traffic with a share of bots" is that code for ................Dem people ?

Trough......http://www.dictionary.com/browse/trough

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DaiRR Feb 2, 2018 1:28 AM Permalink

Congress needs to legislate the CFPB out of existence.

Which internet news outlets are not employing ad click bots? LOL.

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Blue Steel 309 Feb 2, 2018 1:46 AM Permalink

They lost me at the Sedition Act of 1798. The Alien and Sedition Act was one of the best pieces of legislation in the history of congress, and considering most of that congress had a hand in writing and passing the US Constitution, to call it an attack on the Constitution is disingenuous at best.

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pparalegal Feb 2, 2018 1:54 AM Permalink

Another casualty or two of the "I'm With Her" sudden stop pileup wreck.

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chippers Feb 2, 2018 3:44 AM Permalink

This gobermint agency is paying CNN ? WTF...what till trump finds out. Whats with trumps tweet about financial institutions being devastated...? whens that going to start...as its really really needed...along with lots of jail time.

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Fed-up with be… Feb 2, 2018 4:08 AM Permalink

This reminds me of the US Postal Service ADVERTISING. It is AS IF there are alternatives to mailing a simple letter.

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whatisthat Feb 2, 2018 5:31 AM Permalink

I would observe scumbag Elizabeth Warren needs to answer for the corrupt CFPB process and organization- she should be prosecuted and imprisoned...

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Faeriedust whatisthat Feb 2, 2018 6:10 AM Permalink

So now we're to the point where any politician whose policies you don't like, should be tossed in jail? You know what that's called? FASCISM. As in, that's exactly how Mussolini went about taking over Italy. Or there's Romania, where the Iron Guard just assassinated opposition politicians and judges. Or yes, Nazi Germany, where one of the things they don't teach you in schools is that the FIRST concentration camps were built for socialist organizers and members of the old Junker aristocracy. Is that what you want? Do you want to be the first on your block hauled away? 'Cause the problem with that system is that usually the people who end up in charge don't represent more than 20% of the population in terms of real political support. Everybody else is stuck on a runaway train for the duration.

In reply to I would observe scumbag… by whatisthat

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Faeriedust Feb 2, 2018 6:05 AM Permalink

Oh, bullshit. I expect pretty much anybody buying ads on the internet these days ends up paying for a certain amount of fraud and lousy quality, not to mention the ad-blockers that we all use around here. These things are automated, after all, and if it's automated, it can be gamed, and if there's money in it, it WILL be gamed.

As for the CFPB being autocratic and undemocratic, it's barely been around for five years, which means it hasn't even gotten itself organized yet. The money-funneling was inevitable as it was directed to return those funds to "community efforts" to enhance consumer awareness and grass-roots local lending, especially to "underserved communities". There AREN'T any Republican groups that do those things, so you'll just have to expect that any groups getting money to make, for instance, non-profit loans in ghettos, are going to be politically aligned with Democrats. That's what you get for falling for identity politics and refusing to seek the votes of the entire electorate. Or for being fat cats too interested in lapping up the cream in your government trough, to go out and hunt for a living.

The CFPB was designed and intended to be a thorn in the side of banksters. Boo-hoo, poor widdle criminal class! Poor widdle rich boys getting such TINY bonuses, not even enough to buy a house in New York for cash! Anybody who wants to cry over their spilled milk is an idiot.

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drewtheglue Feb 2, 2018 6:46 AM Permalink

Theyre all doing it. You cant quantify this kind of fraud, so it goes on. Facebook, google, you name it.... all part of the deep state money scheme. Print baby, print. Keep hope alive...

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Unreconstructe… Feb 2, 2018 8:20 AM Permalink

Online advertising doesn't work.

The HEDGE is Exhibit A.

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