Brett Banter

Anyone who loves a crispy, classic McDonald's Filet-o-Fish may have been just as horrified as many other Americans were to read in a September issue of the New York Times that hoki, the somewhat generic fish used in that fried McD's goodness, are dangerously near depletion. Hoki farmers in New Zealand, who harvest hoki fish in mass quantities to keep up with demand, were of course none too happy with the story.

So what did the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council do on behalf of its hoki farmers? They bought Google Adwords that people who might be fishing for more online information about the story might search for, such as new york times and hoki. And those Google ads that, as a result, online searchers saw pop up? They were, of course, blatantly critical of the New York Times piece.

The reporter, too, found himself caught up in the ensuing stir - his name was one of the Google AdWords purchased. If someone Googled "William Broad", they would see ads pop up denouncing his New York Times hoki story.

We won't re-hash the entire story written by Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab, but this one is a must-read. See more.