Semantic Targeting Platform Semasio Licenses Misinformation Data

Contextual ad targeting platform Semasio this morning announced it is licensing data from news veracity ratings service NewsGuard to enable advertisers to avoid running their ads in sources of misinformation.

Semasio, which was acquired by marketing compliance platform Fyllo earlier this year, utilizes a “unified semantic targeting” method that helps advertisers understand the content on publishers’ pages, as well as the context of consumers landing on them.

The company said it will use NewsGuard’s ratings data to “activate” contextual segments based on “the credibility of thousands of news and information sources using nine basic, apolitical journalistic criteria, flagging publishers that fail to meet basic journalistic standards.”

“Brands using Semasio can enable pre-bid suppression ad placements on sites NewsGuard has flagged for publishing anti-vaccine misinformation, election integrity hoaxes, Russia-Ukraine war disinformation, or other categories of false or unreliable news,” the company said in a statement.

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By excluding sources of misinformation, the company said it can help advertisers develop “inclusion” lists to redirect their ad spending to publishers of reliable news and information, citing a case study indicating it will improve efficiency and lower advertising costs, while also supporting authentic journalism.

Semasio is the latest in a series of supply-side ad tech firms, including several specializing in contextual targeting, to license NewsGuard’s data.

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