I upvoted the GP because I think it's important for content publishers to disclose who is advertising on their sites.
I'm glad to know Intel advertises there. It doesn't mean the article is wrong, but it's a data point.
Edit after downvotes: First, I use an adblocker, so I wouldn't have seen the ad. So I treat it like a potential hidden conflict-of-interest.
Second, I think media sites should make explicit as much as possible--who advertises for them, and what influence the companies have on the media site. I'm sure they'll claim zero. Still I want it in writing.
I don't see any incentive for media sites to do that. But it'd be nice.
I'm afraid of Intel's relationship with XYZ media site affecting the articles in XYZ. I get your point though. Reading myself again, I see that I sound silly.
You have a good point too. I was being mildly facetious. Nothing guarantees you'll see the exact ads that represent a conflict of interest while you read a given article, after all. An explicit disclosure would be nice. Not only to ensure you know the conflict of interest is there, but to show that the publisher understands that it exists too.
If you aren't given a prompt that gets you to act in the way the advertising wants, its not a very effective ads. Lots of ads are better at doing that if you don't know who wants you to take the action at issue -- its particularly true of political ads, which is why there are attempts to regulate disclosure for those, and attempts to obscure the actual interests represented as much as possible while complying with the regulations.
In any case, publications disclosing advertisers in content is an issue because the advertisement may be remote from the particular content, but the relationship with the advertiser may still shape the content. This remains an issue even where viewing the actual advertisements from the advertiser would reveal the identity of the advertiser.
I'm glad to know Intel advertises there. It doesn't mean the article is wrong, but it's a data point.
Edit after downvotes: First, I use an adblocker, so I wouldn't have seen the ad. So I treat it like a potential hidden conflict-of-interest.
Second, I think media sites should make explicit as much as possible--who advertises for them, and what influence the companies have on the media site. I'm sure they'll claim zero. Still I want it in writing.
I don't see any incentive for media sites to do that. But it'd be nice.