Hillary Blog Ad Scamming

I just read an interesting blog entry about Hillaryis44.org which accused the bloggers of the site of creating false advertising click-through.

Each time a page is loaded at hillaryis44.org, the entire html page is loaded in your browser. At the end of each page, in the 'footer' area, is a java based script. This script specifically generates 'onclick' events for each and every link in the 'u' document where the html redirect links are located before anyone clicks on them.

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In the above script we see that it determines that it is bulding an http referral string in order to send a message to the 'onlick' tracker that the links in the 'u' document have been clicked.

So, in short, hillaryis44.org appears to be a site dedicated to scamming Hillary Clinton supporters into generating advertising revenue for the domain owners by clandestinely counting hits to links that no one ever clicks. They make this appear legitimate to whomever is paying for advertising by having a significant and consistent amount of traffic to their site.

Under normal circumstances, I couldn't care less about the Obama-hate party going on over there.  But the implications that this blog is defrauding advertisers is a serious one for the entire blogosphere and I think it needs some wider attention. I checked the html source, and the findings of the author appear to be correct.  Any link click at the site will send seems to generate a click through to the advertisers... which means that this blogger is committing fraud.

Most blogs get by on a shoe string based only on their ability to get advertisers, and traffic.  A single high traffic blog like Hillaryis44 defrauding advertisers threatens this model for everybody.  And by extension threatens the financial underpinnings of the political blogosphere.  We need to self police, and we need to do this in a way that is not going to look like an attack by "Hillary-Haters".  

First, this is not a blog set up by the Hillary campaign, so there is no point in blaming them.  Though pointing out to them that a blog for them is being used to defraud people might pique their interest.

Earlier this month, Ben Smith with Politicomanaged to track down the publisher of the web site to a "free lance" political activist in New York.

I wrote in December about a mysterious pro-Clinton, anti-Obama website called HillaryIs44, a site that floated sharply negative information about Obama long before the word "Rezko" passed the lips of Clinton and her campaign, and that has been the subject of many months of speculation among reporters, bloggers, and campaign staffers.

Now, two sources have identified the site's creator: A New York political activist named Alex Rodriguez, pictured above.

I called Rodriguez yesterday.

"How do you know?" he asked.

I made the case to him that he might as well tell me his story.

He said he'd think about it, and hasn't called back.

Rodriguez has no evident connection to the Clinton campaign.

I encourage people to verify this as well.  Do not just take me and this other blogger at our word.  Check the source and confirm for yourself, spread the message and make sure that this behavior is exposed for what it is, a single dishonest blogger.