You’ve got a Friend in Check My Ads

Hello!

We can’t stop talking about our new Friends — that is, Friends of Canadian Media, our partners in a hot-off-the-presses campaign.

Our new website, KeepAdTechInCheck.org, shines a light on the darkest corners of the digital ad industry, exposing the harmful content digital advertising dollars fuel.

Check out this video that breaks it all down:

But this campaign isn’t just about problems. We’re also offering real solutions.

“The business model of the internet is advertising. That business model is broken. Brands don’t know where their money is going, while platforms and adtech companies continue to place their ads next to harmful content, thereby profiting from it. We need to change the incentive structure,” our policy director Sarah Kay Wiley said in a press release.

If you want to help us fix this, head to KeepAdTechInCheck.org to learn more. If you’re based in Canada, we even tell you who to contact and how to do it. Together, we can ramp up the pressure on politicians to take action now.

Hurricanes and Helpers

If you notice a distinct lack of puns in this email, it’s because our usual author — managing editor Brandon Hardin — is currently out of office. Like so many others who were still reeling from Hurricane Helene, he and his family evacuated for Hurricane Milton. Thankfully, they are safe and the whole Check My Ads team is breathing a sigh of relief.

Bad actors sometimes jump on moments of pain, chaos, and confusion for their own benefit. In our recent climate change misinformation report, published in partnership with Climate Action Against Disinformation, we investigated the profitable business of climate denialism. And sadly, rampant disinformation ripped across the internet even before Milton made landfall— a trend that can dangerously hamper relief efforts.

But in these moments, good gets a chance to shine even more brightly, too. Take it from Mr. Rogers: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

We’re so grateful to all the helpers who have kept our team and so many others safe. And we’re also grateful for you, our helpers, who add so much wattage to the light we shine on the darkest corners of the digital ad industry.

If you look, you will always find people who are helping.

Until next time, friends. Take care and stay safe!

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