--- title: "Pixalate Week in Review: January 15 - 19, 2018" description: Pixalate reviews this week's news in the programmatic ad fraud space. Find the most critical ad tech and privacy news from 15-19 January 2018. image: https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/trust-image.png --- [![pixalate-full-logo](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Pixalate_Logos/pixalate-full-logo.jpg?width=150&height=60&name=pixalate-full-logo.jpg "pixalate-full-logo")](https://www.pixalate.com) Search **Menu** ** ** ![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/trust-image.png) [Weekly Recaps](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/weekly-recaps) | 2 min read # Pixalate Week in Review: January 15 - 19, 2018 Written by [Tyler Loechner](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/author/tyler-loechner) Jan 19, 2018 7:01:31 PM This week's review of ad fraud and quality in the digital advertising space. ### **1. TAG requires publishers to adopt ads.txt** ![tag.png](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/tag.png?width=640&name=tag.png) TAG this week announced that "publishers are now required to implement the initiative, ads.txt, in order to receive a 'certified against fraud' seal," reported [Advertising Age](http://adage.com/article/digital/tag-tells-publishers-adopt-ads-txt/311976/). The article added: "According to Pixalate, more than 95,000 sites have implemented ads.txt." ### **2. The programmatic industry is facing a trust crisis** ![trust-image.png](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/trust-image.png?width=640&name=trust-image.png) "Even the most fervent believers in programmatic advertising believe it needs to undergo a cleanup, as marketers lose faith in ad tech due to issues like hidden fees, ad fraud and murky auction models," wrote [Digiday](https://digiday.com/marketing/programmatic-boosters-admit-industry-facing-trust-issue/), reporting on the mood at the recent AdExchanger Industry Preview event. The article added that the event featured the "candid admission that automated ad buying is undeniably the future but has many problems that cannot be put off." ### **3. Why Roku's stock jumped to begin the week** **![roku-building.png](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/roku-building.png?width=640&name=roku-building.png)** [The Motley Fool](https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/01/17/why-roku-stock-jumped-today.aspx) reported on some potential reasons behind the jump in price Roku's stock experienced to begin the week (up 6% on Monday). "Roku is aggressively shifting its focus toward its platform business, which is predominantly driven by advertising revenue," wrote The Motley Fool. "Improving measurement for customers (advertisers) is a core piece of building that business, and Roku grabs nearly 70% of all OTT programmatic advertising, according to Pixalate," the article added. ### **4. Google Chrome extensions with over half a million downloads found to purvey ad fraud** ![chrome.jpg](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/chrome.jpg?width=640&name=chrome.jpg) [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/01/500000-chrome-users-fall-prey-to-malicious-extensions-in-google-web-store/) has reported that "[r]esearchers have uncovered four malicious extensions with more than 500,000 combined downloads from the Google Chrome Web Store," noting that Google has since removed the extensions. The extensions were used as part of a click fraud scheme, per the article. ### **5. The link between ad fraud and fake news** ![fake-news.png](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/fake-news.png?width=640&name=fake-news.png) [The Drum](http://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/01/16/birds-the-same-feather-the-unmissable-link-between-ad-fraud-and-fake-news) examines into the link between ad fraud and fake news, citing observations from Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, an assistant professor in the history of behavioral science at the Ohio State University, and a recent whitepaper from AppNexus, which highlighted the link. *Sign up for our blog to stay updated with new stats, trends, and analysis on digital ad fraud.* ### Search Blog Search ### Follow Pixalate ### Subscribe to our blog *By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) Previous Story [← Pixalate Week in Review: January 8 - 12, 2018](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/programmatic-ad-fraud-news-week-in-review-january-12-2018) [** ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog) Next Story [The iPhone X makes up about 5% of all iPhones →](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/iphone-x-adoption-data-ios-apple-iphonex) ## You May Also Like These Stories on Weekly Recaps [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/pixalate-week-review-june-13.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-20-2025) [Weekly Recaps](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/weekly-recaps) ### [Pixalate Week in Review: June 16 - June 20, 2025](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-20-2025) Jun 20, 2025 11:09:13 AM | 3 min read [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/pixalate-week-review-june-13.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-13-2025) [Weekly Recaps](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/weekly-recaps) ### [Pixalate Week in Review: June 9 - June 13, 2025](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-13-2025) Jun 13, 2025 11:39:50 AM | 3 min read [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/June-6-Pixalate-Recap.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-6-2025) [Weekly Recaps](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/weekly-recaps) ### [Pixalate Week in Review: June 2 - June 6, 2025](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/june-6-2025) Jun 6, 2025 1:00:13 PM | 2 min read ** ### Subscribe to our blog *By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) ![pixalate-logo-red-small](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2018NewTemplate/pixalate-logo-red-small.png?width=208&name=pixalate-logo-red-small.png "pixalate-logo-red-small") ** By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) Products [Analytics](https://www.pixalate.com/products/analytics) [Blocking](https://www.pixalate.com/products/blocking) [Media Rating Terminal](https://www.pixalate.com/products/mrt) [Publisher Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [Seller Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [IoT Device Rankings](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=iotDeviceReach) Resources [Blog](https://blog.pixalate.com/) [Press](https://www.pixalate.com/press) [Careers](https://www.pixalate.com/jobs) [Team](https://info.pixalate.com/pixalate-leadership-team) Contact Email [** sales@pixalate.com ](mailto:sales@pixalate.com) [** privacy@pixalate.com ](mailto:privacy@pixalate.com) US: [** +1 888 749 2528 ](tel:+1%20888%20749%202528) EU: [** +44 (0)800 011 2050 ](tel:+44%20(0)800%20011%202050) Slack: [Join ATSAPI Slack Channel ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email) Offices Global Offices US 1775 Greensboro Station Place, Suite 425, McLean, VA 22102 UK 20 North Audley Street London, W1K 6WE, United Kingdom EU 10 Earlsfort Terrace Dublin 2, D02 T380, Ireland Singapore 10 Anson Road, #22-02 International Plaza, Singapore 079903 [![facebook](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/facebook.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/pixalate) [![x](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/twitter-x.png) ](https://twitter.com/pixalateinc) [![linkedin](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/linkedin.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixalate) ![wechat](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/wechat.png) [![slack](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/slack.png) ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email) [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) [GDPR Compliance](https://www.pixalate.com/gdpr) Disclaimer Copyright © 2025 Pixalate [Back to top **](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/programmatic-ad-fraud-news-week-in-review-january-19-2018#) # Disclaimer Disclaimer: The content of this page reflects Pixalate’s opinions with respect to the factors that Pixalate believes can be useful to the digital media industry. Any proprietary data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate’s opinions are just that - opinion, not facts or guarantees. Per the MRC, “'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes. Also per the MRC, “‘Invalid Traffic’ is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic.” ** ** *By clicking Download and entering your email address, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and have read and acknowledge our [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/2024-08-20_Pixalate_Privacy_Policy.pdf). *Copyright © 2025 Pixalate** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * × ## Subscribe to the Pixalate Blog The first step in ad fraud prevention. Loading... By entering your email address and clicking Submit, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy). ![pixalate-logo-white](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_V2_08_26_2016/logo/Pixalate_Logo_WHITE.png) ##### Contact Us12 Loading... ![pixalate-logo-white](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_V2_08_26_2016/logo/Pixalate_Logo_WHITE.png) ##### Download GSTI Loading... Schedule your demo today Please complete all fields Loading... By entering your email address and clicking Submit, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy). * * * * *