The media watchdog website, The Seventh Eye, is
reporting about class action lawsuits against many, most, news media sites and newspapers. The various claims are largely about misleading the public by selling content to advertisers while not disclosing to the reader the nature of the article being advertisements.
The site explains that similar lawsuits have been filed against a long list of news media sites. This issue is not uncommon. The interesting part of it is about the suit against Yated Neeman for 20 million shekels.
According to the report, the lawsuit against Yated Neeman was filed by a subscriber of the newspaper from Beitar Ilit. The severity of the issue is worse with Yated Neeman, so claims the lawsuit, because Yated is a sectoral newspaper for a specific slice of the Haredi community - Litvishe Haredi supporters of the Degel Hatorah party. This turns the Yated readership into a captive audience with no alternatives, no choices, and publishing hidden advertising in such a situation is worse - the Yated is the only medium through which most of the Yated readers are exposed to the outside world. And, the Yated is not just a news source for its readership but is also a window exposing the readership to the hashkafot of the Litvishe leadership, daas torah.
The lawsuit detailed many examples of hidden advertising in the Yated newspaper, but had no proof that money had been paid for these advertisements. The reason they have no proof is because while other newspapers or media have a slew of words that indicate in different ways some form of advertising sold, Yated gives absolutely no indication in these articles in any way. Many are even published in the section of the newspaper titled "News". Another specific complaint is that some of the "letters to the editor" in the "reshut harabim" section are also sold and written supposedly by readers writing about a personal experience or whatnot but are really advertisements.
the lawsuit demands the courts order the paper to stop such secret advertising and to establish a clear line between real articles and advertising and product placement.
While the lawsuit against the Yated is interesting, and in some ways unique, as described above, the more interesting part is the
response of the Yated.
The Yated responded to the suit saying that they do not do this - they do not put in hidden advertising, but when they do, it is generally not for pay, and when it is for pay it is because of the competitors.
the say such hidden advertising is generally not for pay. They say they include it because it is content that enriches the newspaper and the readers appreciate this type of content.
Another defense is that there are generally slight indicators as to the different nature of these articles, such as a border around the article, a slightly different font or some other slight change. And, such articles are generally written using any of a few fake names which everyone knows are not real and therefore the content is not real news.
And, the last interesting part of their response is that some of the hidden advertising is really news. Such as, when a big rav or gadol calls on the public to support this or that tzedaka organization or a campaign for a specific tzedaka or goal - for this readership, such a call from a gadol is news for them, not advertising. the readers relate to such topics as news and newsworthy articles.
The arguments in response are not bad, though I really did not understand how they explain the times they do charge money for such ads (though they really do not), saying that it is because of the competitors, Hapeles, pressure on the advertisers. Briefly they are saying that they don't have hidden advertising, except when they do but then it is not in exchange for money, but when it is in exchange for money it is allowed for other reasons.
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