Made-for-advertising (MFA) content has been a persistent challenge in the programmatic ecosystem, often siphoning ad dollars away from quality publishers and eroding trust in the open internet. In early 2024, Index Exchange took decisive action by removing all MFA inventory from its platform and has been vocal about the important role the sell side must play in addressing the issue.

We spoke with Jade Grodesky, Senior Manager of Exchange Quality at Index Exchange, about the company’s approach, the importance of accountability, and what’s at stake if the industry does not act quickly.

The Sell Side’s Responsibility

For Grodesky, the sell-side must lead in firm action against MFA:

“The sell side is uniquely positioned to take decisive, preventative action against MFA content before it ever reaches a buyer. As the gatekeepers of supply, SSPs have both the visibility and the control needed to enforce meaningful standards at scale. Waiting for buy-side filters or third-party signals passes the burden downstream.”

Index Exchange’s move to remove MFA inventory in early 2024 had measurable impact. Spend was reallocated to legitimate publishers, with the top 10 buyers previously spending on MFA sites increasing their year-over-year spend with the exchange by 39%.

Grodesky adds, “Accountability means upholding the integrity of the ecosystem so marketers can trust that their dollars are supporting legitimate publishers and delivering true value.”

Defining MFA and Avoiding Misclassification

MFA sites, Grodesky explains, are created solely for ad arbitrage. They are designed to maximize ad revenue through high ad density, sensationalist or low-quality content, and traffic arbitrage, without offering genuine editorial value.

“What’s key in our approach is nuance. Many reputable publishers may have high volumes of paid traffic while maintaining editorial integrity and consumer trust. It’s important for ad tech platforms to closely evaluate publishers and ensure they’re not misclassified.”

While there is no universal industry definition yet, Grodesky advocates for a definition that’s grounded in consumer intent and content quality, not just surface-level traits.

Transparency and Action from the Supply Side

Transparency, according to Grodesky, must give buyers clear, actionable information before they bid. That includes accurate domain and app-level identifiers, full visibility into inventory sources, and honest disclosure of monetization practices.

“At Index, we’ve doubled down on surfacing only verified, direct-sourced inventory with clear signals. But transparency alone isn’t enough without proactive exchange quality controls. SSPs must act, not just disclose, and not rely on buyers to parse the good from the bad.”

Grodesky emphasizes that transparency is the foundation of a trusted ecosystem. She encourages all players across the industry to adhere to the latest standards and protocols to ensure signals can be shared transparently in the bidstream.

Measuring Quality

Index Exchange points to the complete removal of MFA sites as its clearest metric, but also tracks quality through buyer performance, engagement, and platform integrity. The post-MFA 39% buyer spend increase remains a key indicator that quality drives results.

“The clearest metric is that our exchange no longer includes MFA sites, full stop. Beyond that, we look at how quality impacts buyer performance, engagement, and platform integrity.”

Grodesky also highlights their investment in monitoring. “We set rigorous policies and combine automated detection with human review to ensure only the highest quality supply is available through our exchange.”

A Shared Industry Role

While Grodesky is adamant that SSPs should lead on removing MFA, she acknowledges that buyers can accelerate change by directing budgets toward trusted publishers, using allow lists, or prioritizing curated marketplaces.

“Buyers have significant influence and can drive change by allocating their budgets only to legitimate publishers and quality environments. In addition to working with trusted SSPs, buyers can develop an allow list of quality publishers they wish to invest in, which is more efficient than maintaining domain-level block lists, or prioritize curated marketplaces.

She adds that Industry-wide adoption of standards like IAB Tech Lab’s ads.txt, SupplyChain object, and sellers.json is critical for verifying legitimacy across the board. These are all publicly available files designed to help verify the legitimacy of publishers and inventory.  

What’s at Stake

The cost of inaction, Grodesky warns, is high.

“If MFA isn’t addressed, we risk eroding the trust that makes the open internet viable. Ad dollars will continue to be siphoned away from quality journalism and creative content, degrading the consumer experience and undermining sustainable monetization for publishers.”

She also states that MFA activity also undermines sustainability efforts, “Eliminating MFA makes for more efficient media buying, which is not just beneficial to buyers, but also to the environment.”

The Road Ahead

Grodesky believes the time to act is now.

“Organizations like IAB Canada can play a vital role in defining standards, educating stakeholders, and holding platforms accountable. But it starts with each of us doing the hard work, not just calling for transparency, but delivering clean supply, by default.”

IAB Canada supports these initiatives and is committed to a cleaner, more transparent advertising ecosystem. We invite all industry stakeholders to join IAB Canada to stay informed on best practices, innovation, and strategies that drive advertising productivity and quality.

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About Jade Grodesky, Senior Manager, Exchange Quality at Index Exchange