• by Dave Morgan , Featured Contributor, March 20, 2025

If all of the leads, transactions and sales that digital ad companies claim in their attribution reports were actually true, the gross domestic product of the U.S. would likely double.

The culprits are many: funny math; funnier models; cookie bombing; disregard for scientific method; last-click overclaiming; first-click overclaiming; view-through conversion overclaiming; creating look-alikes for everything; putting thumbs on the scale; ignoring propensities; just making things up; etc.

Why is faux attribution as big as it is? Here are a few of the reasons why:

More money for sellers. It’s easier to get paid, get renewals and get account growth if you show strong results to your campaigns.

Looks better for buyers. It’s easier for clients to feel good about money they spend if the reports they show their bosses make them look good.

Impenetrable black boxes. So much of what drives attribution reporting today happens in black-box tools cloaked with terms like “AI,” making it hard for anyone to truly question results.

Unsophisticated users. Even if they could interrogate the black boxes, few market participants are mathematicians or econometricians, and most are afraid to look dumb by asking questions.

Many co-dependents and co-conspirators. A lot of people make a lot more money if everyone believes their campaigns worked well. Similarly, a lot of people make a lot less money if everyone knows that their campaigns didn't work so well.

Too much “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Our industry loves to leave harsh truths unspoken, unasked and unquestioned. Willful ignorance is a standard operating procedure for way too many in our business.

What do you think? Are you ready to call BS on all the faux attribution out there?