INSIDE MEDIA: Channel 9 accused of scamming viewers with fake news PLUS Are you watching Squid Game the wrong way?

In our column that takes you inside the world of media: Nine accused of scamming viewers with fake ads | A major publication caught up in a different type of scam | And why you might be watching Squid Game the wrong way.

*WATCH: A video version of this article with clips is available in the player above

NINE’S FAKE NEWS CONFUSING VIEWERS

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If you’ve been watching the TODAY show recently on Channel 9, you might be confused as to why retired tennis champ Andy Murray is featuring in the Nine branded traffic updates being chased by Uber Eats delivery people.

It turns out the traffic update is nothing more than a paid commercial.

The bizarre integration uses the well-established Nine Traffic Network (NTN) branding to fool viewers into thinking it is one of the regular NTN traffic updates usually seen throughout the morning each day on Nine’s breakfast show.

A real traffic report at the top and the paid commercial for Uber Eats at the bottom shows how similar the two are, possibly confusing viewers. Credit: Nine

The spots feature usual traffic presenter Marina Ivanovic, the NTN branding and the same background used during the regular traffic updates.

The one concession seems to be the removal of the words NINE’S TRAFFIC NETWORK from the opening graphic, but the NTN logo with the nine dots remains.

You can see the entire commercial in the video player above.

A slight alteration has been made to the opening NTN graphic, removing the words NINE’S TRAFFIC NETWORK Credit: NINE

“Hello, Marina Ivanovic with Nine’s traffic network” the spot begins.

“There were delays across Melbourne after two Uber Eats delivery people were seen chasing retired tennis star Andy Murray near the city’s South East” the presenter continues as vision shows a chopper shot of Murray being chased.

“More as the situation unfolds”.

A graphic on the screen reinforces the script saying: TRAFFIC DELAYS CLEARING IN THE CITY’S SOUTH EAST.

Confusing viewers even further is a graphic saying TRAFFIC DELAYS CLEARING IN THE CITY’S SOUTH EAST Credit: NINE

An Uber Eats logo sits on the left with the words “Proud Sponsor” underneath.

The traffic ‘update’ is then followed by an Uber Eats commercial that sets up the ‘chase’ which has just been ‘reported’.

In over 30 years in the television industry, I have never seen anything that so blatantly crosses the line between a report and a commercial.

As the founding Executive Producer of Studio 10, commercial integration was a core part of the business and I pushed integration possibilities as far as I could, so I write this as someone who understands the commercial reality of television, but care must be shown around news-based programming.

“The 15-second ad is a paid spot clearly positioned within commercial breaks and is an obvious integration of Uber Eats within an Australian Open context continuing the Andy Murray story arc. Nine’s other programs including Married at First Sight is also included within the integration” a Nine spokesperson told INSIDE MEDIA.

I think there’s a big difference between Married at First Sight and news-based updates.

Despite Nine’s protests that viewers would ultimately realise this is a commercial, the fact is the network has crossed the line between news and commercialisation. While the traffic updates do not fall under the Nine News branding and are always sponsored, this fools the viewer into thinking they are being given real information and therefore the audience instinctively pay attention.

When I first saw the spot in Queensland, my immediate reaction was they had run the wrong version as it has a MELBOURNE graphic and the report related to traffic conditions in Melbourne. The use of a chopper shot to show Murray being chased led to more confusion until I finally realised I was watching a commercial.

The fact it took ME so long to understand the true nature of this spot is proof a line has been crossed.

About 15 years ago when I was working at Nine the news director and myself played with the idea of integrating sponsor logos onto the news set in the screens coming out of a commercial break with vo saying “Nine News is brought to you by [INSERT COMPANY]”. We saw it as a way of generating extra revenue.

The sales director at the time refused to sell the idea to advertisers as he felt the news was sacred and that was crossing a line.

While I disagreed with his decision, I did respect it.

Fast forward to 2025 and it seems all bets are off. There’s no doubt the media industry needs to bring in as much revenue as possible and smart ideas should be welcomed, but this one is a bridge too far.

While some might think I’m being hysterical on this one, I stand by it. It takes a lot for me to arc up about paid integration, but this is inappropriate and is brand damaging to Nine.

SCAMMERS USING NEWS BRANDS TO FOOL CONSUMERS

Another news brand is being used to fool consumers, but this time the company involved is not at fault.

If you’ve been on social media lately you might have noticed a LOT of ads featuring Sophie Monk in what look like headlines from news.com.au with logo included.

Headlines include:

The unforgettable live moment that shocked everyone. A mistake that cost her career.

She saves millions of lives, her name is Sophie Monk.

The Australian public is shocked by Sophie Monk’s words. Why did her statement provide such a reaction?

One of the many fake news headlines featuring Sophie Monk as seen on X Credit: X

As I scrolled through X I noticed these ads were coming up around every 10 posts. To see what I mean have a look at the screen recording I’ve included in the video player above.

According to The Daily Mail Robert Irwin has also been targeted and that when users click the link, they are taken “to articles designed to look genuine, though hosted under a completely different URL”.

We’ve seen celebrities targeted in these fake ads before, many including doctored shots of David Koch and others with black eyes, but now actual news brands are being used to fool users.

What’s worse is that these social media companies continue to allow it to happen. They take the cash they make from these fake ads and allow their users to be scammed, refusing to take any responsibility.

TV, Radio and print have to adhere to strict guidelines over the advertisements placed on their platforms and can face huge fines for breaking those rules (which is why it will be interesting to see if anything happens regarding Nine’s fake traffic reports), it’s about time these social media companies faced the same rules.

Why should they be allowed to profit by helping scammers fool consumers?

THE RULES TO WATCHING SQUID GAME

How do you watch Squid Game on Netflix?

Do you watch the original Korean-language version with subtitles or the English dubbed version?

The creator of Squid Game says viewers should watch the Korean language version with English subtitles Credit: NETFLIX

Well, according to the show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, if you’ve been watching the English dubbed version, you’ve been watching it all wrong.

According to an Instagram post:

“He encouraged viewers to choose the subtitled version, explaining that watching the actors’ performances in the original language is essential to fully experiencing the show and capturing the essence of Squid Game”.

And I couldn’t agree more.

When I first started watching Squid Game I used the English dubbed version and I couldn’t understand the appeal. The voice overs were terrible and didn;t seem to capture the emotional range of what the actors were trying to convey.

So, I switched over to the Korean version with English subtitles and the show was enhanced 1000%.

As good as some voice over actors are, they will never be as good as the actors who have been chosen for those parts who give a performance using body language and speech patterns.

For what it’s worth, I reckon subtitles are always the way to go.

Rob McKnight is a television producer and co-owner of TV Blackbox.

INSIDE MEDIA is published every Monday and Thursday on the 7NEWS website.