Why We're Removing Our Programmatic Ads
5 hours ago
- #reader-supported-journalism
- #digital-media-ethics
- #programmatic-advertising
- Programmatic advertising uses automated technology to match ads with audiences across websites based on user data, enabling targeted ads that seem to 'follow' users.
- The American Prospect is removing all programmatic advertising from its website starting April 6, 2026, to respect readers' personal data and provide a better user experience.
- Programmatic ads slow down websites, create security risks, and create barriers for users with older devices or slower internet connections, limiting access to information.
- The digital advertising system wastes energy and resources through ad servers, real-time bidding, and data centers, with no public accountability for its environmental impact.
- Programmatic advertising contributes to media monopolies, with tech giants like Google and Facebook taking most ad revenue, harming publishers and leading to the decline of local journalism.
- Ad-driven models distort editorial judgment, promoting clickbait and sensationalism over quality journalism, and exploit user data through surveillance and privacy breaches.
- The Prospect aims to sustain itself through reader support instead of ad revenue, avoiding paywalls and focusing on trust, transparency, and a cleaner reading experience.
- This experiment will be publicly documented, with metrics on site performance, engagement, and reader satisfaction, to provide a model for other independent news outlets.
- Readers can support by becoming monthly donors, subscribing to the print magazine, signing up for newsletters, and spreading word-of-mouth to help build a reader-supported journalism model.