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Marketing covers a lot of territory. Commercials. Tiktok. Insta. Billboards. Magazines. Podcasts. Even full-length movies.

Brands cover, well, just about everything. From the clothes we wear to the cars we drive.

Commercialism has invaded every facet of our lives—from the Pampers gift bag in the maternity ward to the pine-box, sustainable funerals that will set you back a cool $5000.

Here you will find information on what marketing is, how it gets you to buy now and what aspects of your life are being invaded for corporate profit.

Native Ads and the FTC
Deceptive Advertising Mara Einstein Deceptive Advertising Mara Einstein

Native Ads and the FTC

In December of 2015, the FTC came out with guidelines for advertisers on how to present native advertising.

Much of this seems to be straightforward. Clearly mark the advertising as advertising. The fact that they even had to say this is fairly surprising, but ultimately necessary.

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The Secrets of ‘Black Ops’ Advertising. Who is Paying for our News?
Deceptive Advertising Mara Einstein Deceptive Advertising Mara Einstein

The Secrets of ‘Black Ops’ Advertising. Who is Paying for our News?

It’s a “legitimate con”, according to one former executive at ESI Media, the Russian-owned company that controls London’s Evening Standard and the online Independent. A writer working for Spark, the Telegraph’s branded content division, calls it “creative deception”. For the American communications academic, Mara Einstein, it’s simply “black ops advertising”…

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Ladies, the NFL Doesn’t Care About You
Wokewashing, Marketing, Deceptive Advertising Mara Einstein Wokewashing, Marketing, Deceptive Advertising Mara Einstein

Ladies, the NFL Doesn’t Care About You

I woke up this morning and hit the link for The Daily as I often do. I was a few days behind so I listened to the story about Deshaun Watson. Steam was coming out of my ears.

Deshaun Watson is now the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. He has also been accused by more than 20 women of sexual assault. Mr. Watson contacted these women through Instagram for massage services. They were legitimate therapists, but it seems he wanted a massage of another kind.

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How Facebook and The New York Times Corporatised ‘Fake News’
Deceptive Advertising Mara Einstein Deceptive Advertising Mara Einstein

How Facebook and The New York Times Corporatised ‘Fake News’

There’s been a lot of talk about fake news lately. The truth is that fake news isn’t new.

What is new is the extent to which fake news has overtaken the media landscape and the forms that this misinformation takes. News pieces from far-right ideologues like Alex Jones’ Infowars or Breitbart or Fox News constitute one type of propaganda.

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