The Brief – Thursday 19 March – GB News has ‘become Reform TV’, Publicis Groupe warns against The Trade Desk & more

📺 An analysis of GB News programming led by The New World’s Alan Rusbridger and more than 20 other journalists concluded that the broadcaster has “essentially become Reform TV”, and that its programming regularly does not comply with broadcasting standards. (The New World)

🚫 Publicis Groupe has advised its clients to avoid working with The Trade Desk. In an email sent to clients, the holding group explained the demand-side platform failed an audit conducted by a third-party consultant that had evaluated the platform’s fee structures. The Trade Desk, auditors concluded, “improperly applied their DSP fee to other fees” it charged Publicis. (Adweek)

📱 Meta has repeatedly failed to stop illegal ads for high-risk financial products from running on its platforms in the UK, despite committing to block them, according to a review by financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). During one week in November, 1,052 ads for currency trading and complex financial instruments were posted on Meta’s platforms by advertisers not authorised by the regulator to promote them. 56% of those ads were from advertisers the FCA had already flagged to Meta. (Reuters)

🎮 Meta is also shutting down its “metaverse” virtual reality platform, Horizon Worlds, on 15 June. It comes as the company continues to pivot away from its rebranded namesake in favour of AI investments. (CNBC)

☑️ Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said government is committed to grant the BBC a permanent royal charter. The move would bring an end to the Corporation’s periodic need to justify its existence every decade. (The Times)

🤖AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity are not making up for publisher losses in referral traffic. According to data from Chartbeat, chatbots are accounting for less than 1% of publishers’ page views. (NiemanLab)

📰 Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has acquired a 26.9% stake in The Economist Group (TEG) for an undisclosed sum. TEG is the parent company of both The Economist and its digital-only sister publication 1843 Magazine. (The Guardian)

🤖 At SXSW, BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti introduced the company’s next pursuit, a spin off called Branch Office. The new company will “explore AI in consumer-facing apps designed for creativity and connection”. Peretti explained this new company is an extension of the work produced by BuzzFeed using AI. (TechCrunch)

🎬 The 2026 Oscars drew 17.86m viewers on Disney’s ABC and Hulu, according to US Nielsen data, down 9% from the year prior, which had posted a post-pandemic high. It is the smallest audience for the awards since 2022. (The Hollywood Reporter)