Newsweek Chairman and Finance Director Resign Amid Ad Fraud Accusations
“Etienne Uzac and Marion Kim resigned on January 31 from their respective roles as chairman and finance director,” says the company
Jon Levine | February 1, 2018 @ 1:46 PM
Last Updated: February 1, 2018 @ 1:52 PM
Newsweek
Newsweek announced Thursday that their Chairman and Finance Director has resigned from the company.
“Etienne Uzac and Marion Kim resigned on January 31 from their respective roles as chairman and finance director at Newsweek Media Group,” Newsweek Media Group told TheWrap in a statement.
A rep for the company declined to give any cause for the sudden exits. The departures came one day before BuzzFeed published the findings of an internet watchdog group that accused the company of artificially pumping up its traffic and engaging in ad fraud to secure $3 million in funding from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The report from the group Social Puncher said that more than half of a digital ad buy by the federal agency went to the websites of Newsweek and International Business Times, both run by Newsweek Media Group.
“The independent federal bureau has bought cheap junk traffic with some share of bots, but made it via ad agency and paid a lot,” the report reads. “The effectiveness of the campaign was very low, close to zero, even when displaying clips for real people.”
“Government money also received pirate sites, as well as advertising systems that cooperate with them.”
The resignations also come just two weeks after Newsweek’s New York City headquarters were raided for unclear reasons by the New York Police Department and district attorney’s office.
Newsweek denied any wrongdoing in a lengthy statement to TheWrap.
“Newsweek Media Group rejects the allegations leveled against the company in a report published today by BuzzFeed News. Newsweek Media Group does not engage in the fraudulent activities described in this article,” it read.
“The report cited by BuzzFeed News mischaracterizes Newsweek Media Group’s business behavior as unethical and distorts the truth. The company received a fraction of the figure stated by Buzzfeed and more than half of the campaign involved display ad formats, not video, as was wrongly reported.”
The CFPB purchased the ads through the third-party agency GMMB, according to BuzzFeed.
The Social Puncher report claimed that Newsweek Media Group received 52 percent of the digital ad budget for the campaign, adding that what it called the company’s goosed traffic numbers played a big role in securing those funds.
“As a rule, it selects publications with a large core of loyal readers, as close as possible to the target audience of the campaign. Also, the reputation of the publisher and the effectiveness,” the group said.
7 Times Matt Lauer Came Under Fire, From Sexual Harassment Accusations to Ann Curry Ousting (Photos)
Matt Lauer was terminated by NBC News on Wednesday after the company received a complaint of sexual harassment against him. But that's not the first time the longtime "Today" host found himself in hot water.
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Rumors of extramarital affairs dogged Lauer during his tenure on "Today," with tabloid reports linking him to other members of the show, including Natalie Morales. In 2010, NBC News finally responded to the allegations, calling them "completely inaccurate and unfounded" and "reckless and harmful to the Lauer family."
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Ann Curry was ousted from "Today" in 2012 as the show was losing ground to ABC's "Good Morning America," and after she issued a tearful on-air goodbye Lauer was widely viewed as the reason for her departure. New York Magazine later reported that the two had a tense off-camera relationship, and though Curry took the fall, Lauer was more to blame for the show's declining viewership.
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In 2012, Lauer was criticized for asking Anne Hathaway about an upskirt photo taken at the premiere of "Les Miserables" and attempting to make a joke of the situation by saying he'd "seen a lot of you lately." Hathaway was praised for how she handled the situation, gently shutting down the line of questioning by saying it was unfortunate that the culture "commodifies sexuality of unwilling participants."
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In 2006, Lauer's wife Annette Roque filed for divorce, alleging that she suffered "cruel and inhumane" treatment at the hands of her controlling husband. The two eventually reconciled and Roque, who was pregnant at the time, withdrew the paperwork, but the documents were obtained and published by the National Enquirer in 2014.
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Lauer's former co-anchor Katie Couric joked about his behavior in a 2012 interview with Andy Cohen. "He pinches me on the ass a lot," she said, calling it Lauer's most annoying habit. Video of the interview, which was handled jokingly at the time, was recirculated following his termination for a sexual misconduct allegation.
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Lauer moderated a pair of NBC News town halls during the 2016 presidential election, which were widely slammed for the way he questioned the two candidates. Lauer repeatedly asked Hillary Clinton about her email server and rushed past other, more concrete policy issues. Meanwhile, he was perceived to have gone much softer on Donald Trump, failing to press the then-nominee on repeated falsehoods.
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Lauer was finally axed by NBC News and removed from "Today" in 2017, after the company received a "detailed complaint" from a colleague accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior.
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Morning show host was axed following a sexual misconduct allegation by an NBC News colleague
Matt Lauer was terminated by NBC News on Wednesday after the company received a complaint of sexual harassment against him. But that's not the first time the longtime "Today" host found himself in hot water.