Inconsistencies in Classification of Online News Articles: A Call for Common Standards in Brand Safety Services

Mike Smith, Riley Grossman, Antonio Torres, Pritam Sen, Cristian Borcea, Yi Chen

Abstract:

This study examines inconsistencies in the brand safety clas-
sifications of online news articles by analyzing ratings from
three leading brand safety providers, DoubleVerify, Integral
Ad Science, and Oracle. We focus on news content because of
its central role in public discourse and the significant financial
consequences of unsafe classifications in a sector that is al-
ready underserved by digital ad spending. By collecting data
from 4,352 news articles on 51 domains, our analysis shows
that brand safety services often produce conflicting classi-
fications, with significant discrepancies between providers.
These inconsistencies can have harmful consequences for
both advertisers and publishers, leading to misplaced adver-
tising spending and revenue losses. This research provides
critical insights into the shortcomings of the current brand
safety landscape. We argue for a standardized and transpar-
ent brand safety system to mitigate the harmful effects o