Burger King’s ad invites complaints, scrutiny

A Burger King television advertisement designed to trigger Google speakers in viewers’ homes leaves the search giant vulnerable to scrutiny by regulators. The 15-second commercial caused the voice-activated Google Home device to read the Wikipedia entry for the Whopper. In TV spots that aired nationally on Wednesday, a Burger King employee asked, “OK, Google. What is the Whopper burger?” and the phrase acted as a trigger for the device, until Google took steps to disable the command on Wednesday. Lawyers and regulators say the stunt, although it may be an effective piece of advertising, could put both the burger chain and Google at risk of legal recourse and consumer backlash.

Facebook buys full-page ads in battle with fake news

Facebook published full-page ads in Germany’s biggest newspapers advising readers on how to detect fake news, after Angela Merkel’s government pressured the company to do more to combat such content on its network. The ads, which were printed Thursday, contains 10 tips on how users can identify news as fake. “Fake news can be identified as such,” the ad reads. “We fight their spread and are giving you some tips how you can recognize whether a news item is true or not.” Merkel’s governing coalition has been upping the pressure on social networks to curb the spread of fake news and malicious posts ahead of Germany’s federal election on Sept. 24. Her Cabinet last week backed a bill that threatens social networks with fines of as much as $53 million if they fail to give users the option to complain about hate speech and fake news, or refuse to remove illegal content.

McDonald’s CEO received compensation worth $15.4M

McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook received compensation of $15.4 million last year as he worked to refresh the company’s image and cut costs amid growing competition and changing tastes. Easterbrook’s pay package included a salary of $1.3 million, stock and options worth $9 million, and incentive pay of $4.6 million. He also got perks such as contributions to a retirement plan and a car allowance. Easterbrook became chief executive in March 2015. For that year, his pay package was $7.9 million. McDonald’s Corp. has announced a series of changes under Easterbrook, including the rollout of an all-day breakfast menu in the U.S. and plans to use fresh beef patties in Quarter Pounders. Customer visits to established U.S. locations fell last year, though people on average spent more per visit.