Non-Profit Voice of San Diego Taking Some Local Heat Over Misleading Fundraising Ads*

We can’t really seem to figure out why, but San Diego’s much celebrated non-profit news site Voice of San Diego is taking some heat from local press and civic leaders for allegedly pursuing a misleading fundraising campaign. In various banner ads on its site, VoSD boasts “ How about a public service news source that receives no government support? You found it.” Below the tagline is a button soliciting donations.

But, as San Diego CityBeat’s Dave Maass dug up, the website does receive public funds–to the tune of $28,200 in ad revenue from government agencies.

Writes Maass of why this is a problem:

— VoSD repeatedly claimed advertising as a form of support, received advertising from several government agencies, then denied it in solicitations for donations likely seen by hundreds, if not thousands of readers.

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