Quick Hit:

Kamala Harris’ campaign and Google may face legal action after ads falsely representing The Independent’s headlines were linked to Harris’ fundraising efforts.

Key Details:

• The Independent denied authoring headlines seen in Google ads that promoted Kamala Harris.
• The ads redirected users to a Harris fundraising page and potentially violated North Dakota's consumer protection laws.
• The law firm Vogel Law is considering legal action against Google and the Harris campaign.

Diving Deeper:

According to the Daily Caller, Google and Kamala Harris’ campaign may face legal action following the discovery of Google ads that falsely attributed headlines to The Independent. These ads, which appeared to promote Kamala Harris, allegedly redirected users to a Harris campaign fundraising page.

The controversy began when WDAY Radio reported that The Independent denied responsibility for the headlines in question. The headlines were associated with ads running on Google, which claimed to quote The Independent. These misleading ads have sparked concerns over potential violations of consumer protection laws in North Dakota, where the ads were seen.

The Fargo-based law firm Vogel Law is currently investigating the possibility of legal action against both Google and the Harris campaign. Attorney Mark Friese from Vogel Law stated that the ads could be a violation of North Dakota's consumer protection laws, which are designed to protect residents from deceptive advertising practices.

Google has not yet commented on the matter, but this development could lead to significant legal challenges for both the tech giant and the Harris campaign. The case raises broader questions about the responsibility of online platforms and political campaigns to ensure the accuracy of information presented in ads, particularly when those ads could mislead voters or the public.