Outbrain gets tough with content partners

Content discovery platform Outbrain is taking a tough stand on the kind of content it will accept across its network.The company revises its guidelines to make sure authentic content and "trusted content" is on its platform.According to the guidelines on the site, Outbrain will only partner “with trustworthy individuals, publishers, brands, and agencies who are passionate about authenticity and creating a great user experience.” It will also have rights to reject content for any reason at its discretion. It will have headline restrictions that clamp down on misleading, sensational claims, aggressive marketing and sales language.“While we may not identify problematic content before it goes live, content will be blocked post-launch if we feel it compromises the safety, positivity, and/or quality of our network,” it said on the site.In addition, any content linked to from the Outbrain service that is not identical to the content submitted to Outbrain for pre-approval will also be immediately removed. Links that drive to commercials, infomercials, advertising copy, or self-promotional content will not be permitted into the system.“Maintaining reader trust has and always will be our number one priority,” Yaron Galai, co-founder and CEO of Outbrain said.“As the industry recognises the promise of content discovery, we believe that, in order to create a long-term and sustainable future, the industry must abide by one simple premise - content recommendations should point to genuine content that is valuable to the reader.”Galai added that “placing audience satisfaction and trust first and foremost will future-proof our whole industry for growth.”In addition, Outbrain has introduced a number of other initiatives for users.These initiatives include a tool that gives publishers the power to make decisions about content links on their sites and allows them to exclude links as they see fit, ensuring they control the authenticity of their readers’ experience. The initiatives also include bolstering Outbrain's team with the addition of a full-time content strategist to ensure its content guidelines are constantly advanced and iterated upon, in line with the evolving landscape.