Forbes has been operating an alternate version of its website, according to The Wall Street Journal. This version was designed to host a larger number of advertisements by stretching stories into formats like slideshows and articles written in list formats. Brands, believing they were purchasing ad space on Forbes.com, were instead having their ads run on this copycat site. The site was shut down by Forbes on Tuesday following inquiries from The Wall Street Journal.
fraud Brands Paid for Ads on Forbes. com. Some Ran on a Copycat Site Instead. https://t.co/7SadUnkFh9
Forbes allowed brands to purchase ads on a website that looked and read like https://t.co/2bWKeJQzwc—but was actually a different domain entirely, according to The Wall Street Journal. https://t.co/Y5pTFvtFIf
Forbes for years ran an alternate version of its website where it packed ads that were intended to run on https://t.co/zcOLxWrVDW, another sign that brands don’t always get what they pay for in the opaque digital-advertising market https://t.co/QExQcIOmAc https://t.co/QExQcIOmAc
incredible "The alternate site, which Forbes shut down Tuesday following inquiries from The Wall Street Journal, featured stories from https://t.co/XQlh6cBHDg that were stretched into formats that can fit many more ads, like slideshows and articles written in a list format,… https://t.co/zgcGZMtKq9
MyPOV: @forbes with more paid media shenanigans. Brands Paid for Ads on https://t.co/587KA6AGmo. Some Ran on a Copycat Site Instead. https://t.co/2KuVBUr7Id
Forbes for years ran an alternate version of its website where it packed ads that were intended to run on https://t.co/5O7XACTkkP https://t.co/EAzfLA893M