Transparency in Digital Advertising
Transparency in Digital Advertising
“What is real?” A question many consumers are consistently asking in the wake of AI (Feng, 2025). Public Relations professionals outmaneuver disinformation by leaning on mentors, personal ethics (Ertem-Eray & Ki, 2026), and the Federal Trade Commission for guidance (Theodarakopoulos et al., 2025). In contrast, some social media influencers focus on the brand’s promotional requirements (Ha et al., 2026) and achieve them through fake followers, false engagement, and no content disclosure (Theodarakopoulos et al., 2025). Social media strategists advise brands to focus on strategies that build consumer trust rather than following social media trends for viewership (Jones, 2026). Short videos are a proven strategy because brands and consumers build relationships by communicating with one another in the comments (Oh & Cheong, 2026). Their question of “what is real?” is answered with ethical leadership and aligned content such as transparency of AI usage, which ranks favorably among consumers (Sands et al., 2026). The question then illuminates the underlying concern: which brand can I rely on? The answer: the brand that builds consumer trust through transparency in digital advertising.
From the Ruby's desk
A Glance of the Past
Advertising has come a long way. Before 2018, advertisements included vague sponsorship disclosures. Brands leaned into “greenwashing” without verification, a term that signifies the product is eco-friendly. The rise of social media has led to accountability campaigns, from carbon footprint production to third-party testing. Transparency in digital advertising now has clear guidelines and requirements. Marking AI-generated content is one of them. Many take a bigger leap by disclosing digital manipulations, such as editing a person's appearance for a magazine cover. Information is now easier to obtain, and consumers keep that in mind when shopping. The current cultural belief is that transparency is key to winning back the consumer’s trust. Now, brands must lean into honesty and hold transparent ethical values regarding digital advertising. (Nguyen et al., 2025)
Reference
Nguyen, K. H., Trinh, A. T., Tran, M. D., & Duong, T. T.-T. (2025). Uncovering the evolution of brand transparency in corporate social responsibility: A holistic perspective. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 32(6), 7671–7696. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.70099
