Google Invests $1M-Plus in Lefty Ad-Targeting Project

March 12th, 2020 2:37 PM

A project launched by Vox Media, the parent company of the outlet (Vox) that gave us Carlos Maza and a constant stream of loony leftism, is now being backed by Google.

The Google News Initiative program will invest an estimated sum upward of $1 million to the “Concert Local” project. This investment is said to be “one of the largest single-publisher investments that Google is making of this kind,” said a source familiar with the matter,” according to Axios. Concert Local will “bring together ad inventory from many local news publishers, making it easier for big, national advertisers to target local news audiences.”

While presenting a facade of neutrality, Google is partnering with liberal outlet Vox Media to gain a greater stake in local news around the country. Vox Media is the parent company to outlets such as The Verge, SB Nation, GrubStreet and others.

The Google News Initiative (GNI) is a program launched by Google as a de-facto life-support for liberal news outlets that have been crippled by the rise of social media. As the The Google News Initiative website itself states “The Google News Initiative is our effort to work with the news industry to help journalism thrive in the digital age.”

GNI announced 34 news projects to be funded on Oct. 25, 2019, 29 of the U.S.-based journalism projects having a decidedly liberal bent. One of the outlets that benefited from the Google funding, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, received $535,000 from liberal billionaire George Soros in only three years.

Google has openly partnered with and praised major liberal media news outlets, likeThe Washington Post, as well.

The big picture, as Axios described, is that Vox Media will “develop an end-to-end technology stack for publishers at all levels to be able to license to create a better user experience and to make more money.”

Google will also help connect Vox Media and its affiliated local publishers around the country and aid them in their advertising networks. Google’s Managing Director of News Partnerships Jason Washing stressed how great a difference these changes will make:

"What we have experienced is that brand budgets typically don't find their way to local media news sites on orders of the magnitude that are making a difference to local communities and newsrooms.”