As a proud American and journalist, I don’t get very excited when I hear that one of our presidential candidates is changing news headlines.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign team have been changing the headlines of articles from prominent news sources in Google Ads, seemingly skewing the news in her favor. Due to the “Paid for by the Harris for President” banner atop the articles, this isn’t TECHNICALLY unconstitutional. It raises some concerns, however.
The freedom of the press is critical to our country and government, especially in the election season.
A 2014 study from the American Press Institute suggests that this is even more destructive to our society than it seems. “4 in 10 Americans report that they delved deeper into a particular news subject beyond the headlines,” the report said.
Admittedly, I am occasionally a member of the ‘headline-only’ club. I used to think I could trust the news. Now it seems that it’s less educating to read just the title than to read nothing at all.
Kamala Harris’s campaign team has yet to share their remarks, but news outlets affected by this scandal have spoken up. The Guardian said they understand an entity’s desire to, “…align itself with The Guardian’s trusted brand,” but, they, “…need to ensure it is being used appropriately and with our permission. We’ll be reaching out to Google for more information about this practice.”
Google has already said its piece, claiming that it is easy to distinguish these ads from a real news article. On this one, I think Google is incorrect, especially since American citizens are nonresistant to influences, and often rarely look into the things they believe – but that’s a topic for another day.
Another issue with the Harris campaign changing these headlines is it feels oddly too close to a copywrite infringement, which is protected by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution. They are using fictitious headlines for promotion, while simultaneously stealing news outlets’ logos. Many news outlets have come forward saying not only did they not allow this, but they didn’t even know about it.
However, the Harris campaign is devious. Legally, they have themselves protected. Morally is a different story, but to be perfectly honest, who wants a president without morals? If you can’t do it without having to be sneaky, you shouldn’t be doing it.
Harris’s actions are not only unconstitutional, they aren’t right either. We have come to a point in our society where it is time to take a hard look at the protections of our rights and ensure that the very people promising them aren’t stealing them at the same time.
