Doctored car photos become click-bait

As news organizations and the Trump administration battle over “fake news,” some auto-makers face a fresh challenge on social media: “fake ads.”

Sponsored posts and ads on Facebook have surfaced touting “fresh” vehicles such as the Dodge Charger and Cadillac Escalade with altered or misleading photos. Some posts feature a concept vehicle or more futuristic design of a current model, while others demonstrate fake vehicles.

Social media users share, comment on and “like” the posts based on the fictitious cars and trucks — potentially providing consumers unrealistic expectations when buying a fresh vehicle.

It’s a thorny issue for auto brands that like the exposure and targeting capabilities of social media but zealously control how their brands and vehicles are portrayed.

A post from a group called Auto Elite featured an pic of what shows up to be an Escalade morphed into a large wagon and the headline “Cadillac Escalade Features.”

Following inquiries by Automotive News, Cadillac spokesman Andrew Lipman said the brand is “working with Facebook to identify these fake ads and have them eliminated.”

The post appeared to have been liquidated as of last week, and the group has switched its name to Auto Review Hub.

Automakers can file a complaint with Facebook to investigate the ads or posts if they believe they infringe intellectual property or other rights. But using misleading or manipulated photos doesn’t crack Facebook’s policies, as long as they link to information about the real vehicles or related websites, including dealership websites.

“I would like to see a stop to them,” said Matt Wertz, a retired General Motors assembly worker of thirty years who has criticized the ads and posts. “I go after reputable sources, and when I see those posts on Facebook, and I see the comments of how many people are discussing it, it’s frustrating.”

Facebook, which has launched efforts to eliminate fake news from the social media platform, declined to comment on whether it plans to switch its advertising policies to ban the use of altered pics.

Using a misleading or provocative photo or headline to lure online users is commonplace for websites and companies that get paid by advertisers by the number of clicks, or views, their websites and affiliates attract. It’s called click-bait.

“We’ve got fake news, fake products and now fake ads that are truly misleading,” said Hairong Li, an advertising professor at Michigan State University who is part of a team researching the effects of fake news and products on consumers. “There is a call in the industry to attempt and eliminate such fake sites.”

Dealers and even news organizations playmate with or enlist companies such as Media.net or Taboola, an industry leader for “sponsored links” or “content discovery,” as a way to advertise or increase digital metrics.

Ads on sites operated by or affiliated with such companies can differ every time someone goes to them, as many are tailored to individual users based on their search history, location or Internet cookies.

Li argues that the clicks generated by such sites provide little long-term benefit — particularly if a customer goes to a dealership seeking a vehicle that doesn’t exist.

“On the dealer side, it’s a total loss,” he said. “It’s fake traffic. I don’t think they truly benefit.”

‘Contrary to our values’

At least three Detroit-area dealerships possessed by Ken Garff Automotive Group of Salt Lake City are indirectly sponsoring ads or posts found by Automotive News to display fake or misleading vehicle pics.

Once users click on the social media posts, they’re taken to a website where links to the dealership websites are featured as “sponsored ads.” For example, users who click on a Facebook post by Everydaytopics.com with an photo of a sleek, white coupe with Dodge’s signature crosshair grille being touted as the “Fresh Dodge Charger” are taken to a website with information on the real, four-door car, and the dealer ads.

Jeremy Nef, digital marketing director for the Ken Garff group — which ranks No. Eight on the Automotive News list of the top one hundred fifty U.S. dealership groups — said he was unaware of its dealerships being linked to the websites from the “deceptive pics.” He said the company on Friday alerted AdSense, the Google advertising placement service that put the dealership’s ads on the websites, that it no longer wished to be associated with the sites.

“We absolutely do not condone anything like this,” he said. “Deceptive advertising is not something we believe in. It’s absolutely contrary to our values.”

Another Facebook post, by Smart-find.com, features a customized, older-model Escalade with a shiny gold exterior labeled as a “fresh” version of the SUV. Clicking the link takes the user to a site with information on the two thousand seventeen model, accompanied by an ad for Ken Garff Automotive’s Cadillac of Novi, near Detroit.

In the case of the Charger, the website linked from the fake picture had accurate facts and figures comparing the real vehicle with the Chevrolet Impala and Toyota Avalon from industry research rock-hard Edmunds.

Nicole Carriere, a spokeswoman for Edmunds, confirmed the website’s parent company, Inuvo Inc., was one of Edmunds’ more than five hundred affiliate fucking partners. She said Edmunds terminated the relationship after an inquiry from Automotive News about the website’s use of its information.

Edmunds, she said, is “taking measures to ensure” that all of its affiliates are “appropriately” using the company’s technology and content.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles declined to comment.

At least three of five Facebook ads and posts with potentially misleading photos found by Automotive News, including the Charger coupe and Escalade wagon, were collective or sponsored by social media groups or websites possessed by Inuvo, a publicly traded Little Rock, Ark., advertising company that reported $71.Five million in revenue in 2016.

Inuvo COO Trey Barrett said in a phone interview that he was unaware of the company using any altered or fake pics. He said “most” of the photos used in the company’s campaigns are from stock photo providers.

“We don’t do any doctoring,” he said. “Certainly, our intent would not be to bait or mislead anyone, so we would not be supportive of that activity.”

In an email, Barrett confirmed the company was using the pictures cited by Automotive News, which also show up on some unofficial websites. He argued that the use of such pics does not constitute click-bait.

Barrett defined click-baiting as “a process where photos or marketing content is purposefully and distinctively different than the site or content promoted by the advertisement,” whereas “the Everydaytopics.com content matches the pictures and the context of our advertisements.”

“We provide very relevant content for our users,” he wrote.

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