Kendra Barnett
@kendrabarnett.bsky.social
Senior tech reporter @Adweek. Poet & Pushcart-nominated essayist. Armchair philosopher. Signal: kendra.16
SCOOP: Some media buyers on The Trade Desk say they're being "forcibly migrated" to Kokai, and, for the first time, locked out of creating new campaigns in Solimar—while bugs and UI hiccups pile up in Kokai. For @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/trade-...
The Trade Desk Pushes Buyers to Kokai Interface in Sign of Solimar End
Advertisers say they can no longer create campaigns in the Solimar interface as The Trade Desk looks to sunset it
www.adweek.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:43 PM
SCOOP: Some media buyers on The Trade Desk say they're being "forcibly migrated" to Kokai, and, for the first time, locked out of creating new campaigns in Solimar—while bugs and UI hiccups pile up in Kokai. For @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/trade-...
SCOOP: Amazon is pushing ad agencies to try its DSP by offering head-to-head tests against rivals—covering all costs in some cases in an effort to prove performance. Tensions with @thetradedesk.bsky.social are heating up. See the leaked pitch deck @adweek.bsky.social 👇 www.adweek.com/programmatic...
EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Offers Free DSP Face-Off for Media Buyers, Leaked Slides Show
The retail giant is offering to foot the bill for advertisers to engage in head-to-head tests between Amazon DSP and rivals.
www.adweek.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:49 PM
SCOOP: Amazon is pushing ad agencies to try its DSP by offering head-to-head tests against rivals—covering all costs in some cases in an effort to prove performance. Tensions with @thetradedesk.bsky.social are heating up. See the leaked pitch deck @adweek.bsky.social 👇 www.adweek.com/programmatic...
On Monday @adweek.bsky.social was granted exclusive access to @anamarketers.bsky.social's closed-door CMO summit, where select brand execs mapped marketing’s AI-driven future and established around 20 industry-wide growth proposals for 2026. Here's what happened: www.adweek.com/brand-market...
Inside the Closed-Door Meeting Where Marketing’s Power Players Map The Future
ADWEEK gained first-time access to a private meeting among marketing executives who collaborate to set growth targets for their sector.
www.adweek.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:34 PM
On Monday @adweek.bsky.social was granted exclusive access to @anamarketers.bsky.social's closed-door CMO summit, where select brand execs mapped marketing’s AI-driven future and established around 20 industry-wide growth proposals for 2026. Here's what happened: www.adweek.com/brand-market...
Reposted by Kendra Barnett
👀 important update from @kendrabarnett.bsky.social at @adweek.bsky.social:
#Meta will no longer subject itself to annual #BrandSafety audits from the Media Rating Council ( #MRC ).
Read more 👉 www.adweek.com/media/meta-w...
#Meta will no longer subject itself to annual #BrandSafety audits from the Media Rating Council ( #MRC ).
Read more 👉 www.adweek.com/media/meta-w...
Meta Withdraws From MRC Brand Safety Audits, Loses Accreditation Just Months After It Was Issued
The social giant no longer wishes to be audited for brand safety by the media industry’s leading accreditation firm.
www.adweek.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
👀 important update from @kendrabarnett.bsky.social at @adweek.bsky.social:
#Meta will no longer subject itself to annual #BrandSafety audits from the Media Rating Council ( #MRC ).
Read more 👉 www.adweek.com/media/meta-w...
#Meta will no longer subject itself to annual #BrandSafety audits from the Media Rating Council ( #MRC ).
Read more 👉 www.adweek.com/media/meta-w...
SCOOP: Meta has lost its MRC brand safety accreditation for Facebook & Instagram feeds just months after earning it, after opting out of annual audits, @adweek.bsky.social has learned. The company says it will opt for 3rd party audits instead. www.adweek.com/media/meta-w...
Meta Withdraws From MRC Brand Safety Audits, Loses Accreditation Just Months After It Was Issued
The social giant no longer wishes to be audited for brand safety by the media industry’s leading accreditation firm.
www.adweek.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:49 PM
SCOOP: Meta has lost its MRC brand safety accreditation for Facebook & Instagram feeds just months after earning it, after opting out of annual audits, @adweek.bsky.social has learned. The company says it will opt for 3rd party audits instead. www.adweek.com/media/meta-w...
NEW: TTD execs Tues shared new deets about OpenAds, its publisher product debuted this month in the wake of Prebid's Transaction ID shakeup in Aug. After some pushback, CEO Jeff Green admitted OpenAds marks TTD's encroachment into the sell side. For @adweek.bsky.social www.adweek.com/programmatic...
The Trade Desk Execs Share New Details About How Sell-Side Solution OpenAds Will Work
CEO Jeff Green admits the DSP is edging into sell-side territory, but says it’s for the benefit of all players in the adtech ecosystem
www.adweek.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:09 AM
NEW: TTD execs Tues shared new deets about OpenAds, its publisher product debuted this month in the wake of Prebid's Transaction ID shakeup in Aug. After some pushback, CEO Jeff Green admitted OpenAds marks TTD's encroachment into the sell side. For @adweek.bsky.social www.adweek.com/programmatic...
Scoop: Mobile adtech company Verve laid off parts of its staff in late Aug and early Sept, @adweek.bsky.social has learned. Cuts primarily affected the marketplace team. The reorg came ahead of the announcement of Verve's €16.2M acquisition of Captify this month. www.adweek.com/media/exclus...
EXCLUSIVE: Mobile Adtech Giant Verve Lays Off Part of SSP Team
The Swedish company gave impacted staffers little explanation for the reorg, according to sources.
www.adweek.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Scoop: Mobile adtech company Verve laid off parts of its staff in late Aug and early Sept, @adweek.bsky.social has learned. Cuts primarily affected the marketplace team. The reorg came ahead of the announcement of Verve's €16.2M acquisition of Captify this month. www.adweek.com/media/exclus...
NEW for @adweek.bsky.social: BI accuses Google of rigging ad auctions & suppressing publisher revenues in new federal lawsuit. Latest in a wave of antitrust cases against the tech giant, many of which have been levied by publishers & publisher-adjacent tech firms. www.adweek.com/media/busine...
Business Insider Accuses Google of Suppressing Publisher Ad Revenue in Federal Lawsuit
Business Insider joins a growing roster of publishers and publisher-adjacent tech companies suing Google over its ad practices.
www.adweek.com
September 19, 2025 at 8:57 PM
NEW for @adweek.bsky.social: BI accuses Google of rigging ad auctions & suppressing publisher revenues in new federal lawsuit. Latest in a wave of antitrust cases against the tech giant, many of which have been levied by publishers & publisher-adjacent tech firms. www.adweek.com/media/busine...
NEW: A federal lawsuit accuses indie agency Horizon Media of race & gender discrimination, retaliation & a hostile workplace. Plaintiffs say leaders marginalized Black execs, restricted resources & undermined DEI efforts. Horizon denies it. For @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/agencies/hor...
Execs Allege Racial and Gender Discrimination Against Agency Horizon in Federal Lawsuit
Horizon Media is facing allegations of racial and gender discrimination in a federal lawsuit filed by one current and one former executive.
www.adweek.com
September 5, 2025 at 8:17 PM
NEW: A federal lawsuit accuses indie agency Horizon Media of race & gender discrimination, retaliation & a hostile workplace. Plaintiffs say leaders marginalized Black execs, restricted resources & undermined DEI efforts. Horizon denies it. For @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/agencies/hor...
SCOOP: Scope3 laid off some of its sales team last week—part of what the firm describes as a "strategic shift" toward agentic ad solutions. One affected staffer said some other employees quit after the reorg was announced. Details in my story for @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/scope3...
EXCLUSIVE: Scope3 Lays Off Staff as Part of Shift Toward Agentic Advertising
Scope3 is cutting some jobs as part of what it characterizes as a strategic restructuring.
www.adweek.com
September 5, 2025 at 3:30 PM
SCOOP: Scope3 laid off some of its sales team last week—part of what the firm describes as a "strategic shift" toward agentic ad solutions. One affected staffer said some other employees quit after the reorg was announced. Details in my story for @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/scope3...
SCOOP for ADWEEK: Top agencies mistakenly bought ads through Publicis' Epsilon SSP via opaque reselling—sending money & valuable data to a rival. Some are now blocking the platform over concerns that Publicis—the only holdco with an SSP—could gain a competitive edge. www.adweek.com/media/public...
EXCLUSIVE: Media Buyers Block Publicis’ Epsilon SSP Over Data Leakage Concerns
WPP, IPG, Havas, and others sent media dollars and data to a rival—via Epsilon’s SSP
www.adweek.com
September 2, 2025 at 2:13 PM
SCOOP for ADWEEK: Top agencies mistakenly bought ads through Publicis' Epsilon SSP via opaque reselling—sending money & valuable data to a rival. Some are now blocking the platform over concerns that Publicis—the only holdco with an SSP—could gain a competitive edge. www.adweek.com/media/public...
Reposted by Kendra Barnett
NEW INVESTIGATION from @kendrabarnett.bsky.social:
Because of the murky nature of digital ads, major advertising companies have been unknowingly sending their data to a direct competitor.
www.adweek.com/media/public...
Because of the murky nature of digital ads, major advertising companies have been unknowingly sending their data to a direct competitor.
www.adweek.com/media/public...
EXCLUSIVE: Media Buyers Block Publicis’ Epsilon SSP Over Data Leakage Concerns
WPP, IPG, Havas, and others sent media dollars and data to a rival—via Epsilon’s SSP
www.adweek.com
September 2, 2025 at 1:21 PM
NEW INVESTIGATION from @kendrabarnett.bsky.social:
Because of the murky nature of digital ads, major advertising companies have been unknowingly sending their data to a direct competitor.
www.adweek.com/media/public...
Because of the murky nature of digital ads, major advertising companies have been unknowingly sending their data to a direct competitor.
www.adweek.com/media/public...
NEW: Shareholders of the The Trade Desk will vote Sept 16 on whether to change the voting structure of the company, potentially imperiling CEO Jeff Green’s control, according to an SEC filing. The board recommends keeping Green in power. For @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/programmatic...
The Trade Desk Shareholders Will Vote Whether CEO Jeff Green Should Keep Supervoting Shares
The company’s board is urging investors to maintain its current stock structure for another 10 years.
www.adweek.com
August 29, 2025 at 2:13 PM
NEW: Shareholders of the The Trade Desk will vote Sept 16 on whether to change the voting structure of the company, potentially imperiling CEO Jeff Green’s control, according to an SEC filing. The board recommends keeping Green in power. For @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/programmatic...
EXCLUSIVE: Google has been testing ways to mitigate invalid traffic using Gemini-powered AI tools over the last year and a half, the company told @adweek.bsky.social. Google claims to have stemmed "deceptive or disruptive" mobile ads by 40% during a 14-month period. www.adweek.com/media/google...
Google Has Been Quietly Using Gemini AI to Weed Out Ad Fraud and Invalid Traffic
Google researchers have been using Gemini models to identify deceptive and disruptive ad serving techniques in mobile apps and across the web.
www.adweek.com
August 12, 2025 at 3:13 PM
EXCLUSIVE: Google has been testing ways to mitigate invalid traffic using Gemini-powered AI tools over the last year and a half, the company told @adweek.bsky.social. Google claims to have stemmed "deceptive or disruptive" mobile ads by 40% during a 14-month period. www.adweek.com/media/google...
NEW: Instagram on Wednesday announced a slate of product updates, including a reposting feature, a 'Friends' tab, and a messages-embedded live map akin to Snapchat's Snap Map. For @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/instag...
Instagram Adds Repost Feature, Friends Tab, and Snap Map Lookalike
The updates mimic Snap and TikTok features in the race for user attention.
www.adweek.com
August 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
NEW: Instagram on Wednesday announced a slate of product updates, including a reposting feature, a 'Friends' tab, and a messages-embedded live map akin to Snapchat's Snap Map. For @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/instag...
BREAKING: OpenX is suing Google, alleging the company's anti-competitive practices forced the firm to shutter its ad server and stifled competition. The filing follows an April ruling that found Google operates an illegal monopoly in adtech. For
@adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/adtech...
@adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/adtech...
OpenX Sues Google, Alleging 'Rigged' Ad Auctions
The supply-side platform is seeking damages over what it says are anti-competitive adtech practices.
www.adweek.com
August 4, 2025 at 3:59 PM
BREAKING: OpenX is suing Google, alleging the company's anti-competitive practices forced the firm to shutter its ad server and stifled competition. The filing follows an April ruling that found Google operates an illegal monopoly in adtech. For
@adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/adtech...
@adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/adtech...
Exclusive for @adweek.bsky.social: X is incentivizing advertisers with lower CPMs to publish what X's head of Americas Monique Pintarelli calls "beautiful" ads. Ads will receive 'aesthetic scores'—those with low scores will pay more and be algorithmically suppressed. www.adweek.com/social-marke...
X Will Give Brands Lower Ad Rates for ‘Aesthetic’ Ads
Brands will be subject to a new scoring system based on the appearance of their ad copy and ad creative on X
www.adweek.com
July 30, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Exclusive for @adweek.bsky.social: X is incentivizing advertisers with lower CPMs to publish what X's head of Americas Monique Pintarelli calls "beautiful" ads. Ads will receive 'aesthetic scores'—those with low scores will pay more and be algorithmically suppressed. www.adweek.com/social-marke...
NEW for @adweek.bsky.social: Musk may not be seeking a CEO-type to fill Linda Yaccarino's shoes. That's because X's business model is transforming from an ad-supported social platform to what's likely to be a subscription-based AI utility in xAI. www.adweek.com/media/xs-fut...
The Next Leader of X Won't be a Traditional CEO, Experts Say
Musk is piloting X toward an AI-first future.
www.adweek.com
July 16, 2025 at 7:13 PM
NEW for @adweek.bsky.social: Musk may not be seeking a CEO-type to fill Linda Yaccarino's shoes. That's because X's business model is transforming from an ad-supported social platform to what's likely to be a subscription-based AI utility in xAI. www.adweek.com/media/xs-fut...
BREAKING: Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as CEO of Elon Musk's X after two years in the role. Story for @adweek.bsky.social www.adweek.com/media/linda-...
July 9, 2025 at 3:28 PM
BREAKING: Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as CEO of Elon Musk's X after two years in the role. Story for @adweek.bsky.social www.adweek.com/media/linda-...
EXCLUSIVE: Google has pulled some 350 apps from its Play Store after learning about an extensive fraud scheme that served out-of-context mobile ads to juice impressions. Story for @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/programmatic...
Google Wipes 350 Android Apps Tied to Major Ad Fraud Scheme
Traffic generated by the IconAds scheme primarily originated from Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S.
www.adweek.com
July 2, 2025 at 1:33 PM
EXCLUSIVE: Google has pulled some 350 apps from its Play Store after learning about an extensive fraud scheme that served out-of-context mobile ads to juice impressions. Story for @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/programmatic...
Tuesday scoop for you: X will begin testing AI-generated Community Notes today. Via an open API, users can build their own AI note writers for fact-checking. AI-generated notes will still be subject to feedback from human users. Story for @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/exclus...
EXCLUSIVE: AI Bots Will Now Write Community Notes on X
X will let AI chatbots generate their own Community Notes, which are user-submitted comments attached to some posts that offer additional context.
www.adweek.com
July 1, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Tuesday scoop for you: X will begin testing AI-generated Community Notes today. Via an open API, users can build their own AI note writers for fact-checking. AI-generated notes will still be subject to feedback from human users. Story for @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/media/exclus...
The @adweek.bsky.social team is live-blogging its way through Cannes, dropping juicy sound bites from industry bigwigs, touring the coolest activations, documenting key announcements, & getting the goss at the most exclusive parties. Check in for regular updates! www.adweek.com/brand-market...
Cannes Lions Live Blog | ADWEEK
Cannes Lions Live Blog | ADWEEK
www.adweek.com
June 16, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The @adweek.bsky.social team is live-blogging its way through Cannes, dropping juicy sound bites from industry bigwigs, touring the coolest activations, documenting key announcements, & getting the goss at the most exclusive parties. Check in for regular updates! www.adweek.com/brand-market...
Scoop: Recently shuttered agency Madwell said in an email that it doubts it can pay back vendors it still owes—who are collectively due many thousands. Five people with outstanding invoices expressed disappointment & anger in conversation with @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/agencies/mad...
Madwell Says It's 'Unlikely' It Can Repay Vendors, Many Owed Thousands
Madwell, the indie agency that shuttered in April after its financial strain worsened following a fallout between its cofounders, told some vendors that it may not be able to fulfill outstanding payme...
www.adweek.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Scoop: Recently shuttered agency Madwell said in an email that it doubts it can pay back vendors it still owes—who are collectively due many thousands. Five people with outstanding invoices expressed disappointment & anger in conversation with @adweek.bsky.social: www.adweek.com/agencies/mad...
SCOOP: Ads for blue-chip brands ran on a TikTok-like adult video app—many via servers incl. Facebook Audience Network, Amazon, Publicis-owned Epsilon, AppLovin, Basis and InMobi. After @adweek.bsky.social's inquiry, Google blocked the app from monetizing: www.adweek.com/media/exclus...
EXCLUSIVE: Ads From Verizon, Shell, and Others Ran Next to Explicit Videos on Top Android App
Ads for blue-chip brands like Verizon, Starbucks, and Instacart are being served on an app full of suggestive content via popular exchanges operated by Meta, Amazon, Epsilon and AppLovin.
www.adweek.com
June 4, 2025 at 5:08 PM
SCOOP: Ads for blue-chip brands ran on a TikTok-like adult video app—many via servers incl. Facebook Audience Network, Amazon, Publicis-owned Epsilon, AppLovin, Basis and InMobi. After @adweek.bsky.social's inquiry, Google blocked the app from monetizing: www.adweek.com/media/exclus...
JUST IN: The FTC is probing media rating firms Media Matters and Ad Fontes Media, asking for information about their industry ties with orgs including WFA, NewsGuard, IAB, DoubleVerify, Check My Ads, and more, according to a letter reviewed by @adweek.bsky.social:
FTC Issues Sweeping Demands to Media Rating Firms Over Industry Ties
The investigation comes amid an influx of conservative scrutiny around advertisers’ decisions to cut spend on platforms like X.
www.adweek.com
June 3, 2025 at 2:35 PM
JUST IN: The FTC is probing media rating firms Media Matters and Ad Fontes Media, asking for information about their industry ties with orgs including WFA, NewsGuard, IAB, DoubleVerify, Check My Ads, and more, according to a letter reviewed by @adweek.bsky.social: