In our recent blog, Which Supply Paths Work? Unlocking the Hidden Map of Programmatic Spend, we unpacked the reality that not every programmatic dollar is created equal. Opaque supply chains, duplicative auctions, and hidden fraud risks erode trust and drain billions from advertisers each year. The lesson was clear: without transparency, programmatic spend is a gamble.

But shining a light on the map is just the first step. For SSPs and DSPs, the bigger challenge is proving to brands and agencies that the inventory they deliver is clean, transparent, and worth investing in. That means selecting and packaging the right supply, pruning out unauthorized sellers, and surfacing the trust signals that buyers need. 

Building Towards a Holistic View

A recent AdAge article reported that companies like Procter & Gamble and Bayer are reviewing their ad-tech relationships to demand greater accountability and transparency of where ad dollars go. This underscores a growing expectation: buyers don’t just want inventory, they want assurance that every impression and overall media spend is not only effective but also traceable. 

HUMAN’s Ad Fraud Defense offers path-level clarity and automated detection to enable supply quality efforts that directly support the kind of transparent, verifiable metrics that buyers demand. With the Human Defense Platform, platforms can see every node in the chain, validate every hop, and flag MFA risk before budgets are wasted. And because trust isn’t built on visibility alone, Ad Fraud Defense goes further by surfacing actionable insights so partners can enforce quality standards directly within their platforms.

The result? A stronger ecosystem in which DSPs validate paths pre-bid, SSPs distribute only clean supply, and advertisers improve overall media spend effectiveness. Mapping, measuring, and automating supply quality enhancement creates the foundation for trusted supply partnerships.

HUMAN’s Senior Director of Product Management Justin Adler-Swanberg, explains why HUMAN prioritizes building quality pipelines and how transparency drives performance. 

How We Map & Measure to Mitigate

Transparency only matters if it’s actionable. That’s why HUMAN’s Ad Fraud Defense doesn’t just illuminate the supply chain. We measure, flag, and empower remediation in real time with the optionality to make decisions client-side or HUMAN side.

1. SCO Validation

We parse the OpenRTB SupplyChain Object (SCO) from each bid request and check every intermediary against the publisher’s ads.txt/app-ads.txt and the exchange’s sellers.json. Missing nodes, unauthorized sellers, or broken sequences are instantly flagged so platforms know when a path isn’t trustworthy.

2. Deterministic MFA Detection

Blocklists are blunt instruments. Instead, HUMAN surfaces data-driven indicators of low quality sites. This includes excessive ad refresh, templated layouts and much more. By using an indicator-based method we help pinpoint domains engineered for monetization over user value. This ensures protection and operational decision-making can evolve alongside the ecosystem.  

3. Unified Dashboard & APIs

• MFA Domains: A dedicated widget where clients can inspect each indicator alongside severity and quickly see top MFA domains flagged by volume.
• Path-by-Path Compliance Map: Insights into SCO-validated paths, revealing exactly which partners compromise integrity.
• Actionable Exports & APIs: Reporting that supports the ability to push domain- or seller-level context directly to your server or platform. 
  

By combining these insights in one platform, HUMAN’s Ad Fraud Defense turns opaque supply into a transparent system where risks aren’t just identified but actionable at scale.

Creating Reliable Supply Quality

With risk mapped and measured, the next step is remediation. At times, curation has been used as a veneer. When done correctly, inventory efforts should be supported by the ability to validate, filter, and automate quality across every channel.

Here’s how each programmatic player can turn increased signals into a competitive advantage:

For DSPs

• Validate Paths Pre-Bid: Drop bid requests that fail SCO checks or show unauthorized sellers before dollars are spent.
• Filter MFA Risk: Tag and exclude domains exhibiting MFA signals like rapid refresh or excessive ad slots.
• Automate Remediation: Maintain dynamic blocklists of bad domains/sellers that sync directly into campaigns, ensuring underperformers are paused without manual cleanup.

For SSPs 

• Distribute Only Clean Paths: Ensure every seller appears in upstream ads.txt and sellers.json before inventory hits the open market.
• Cull High-Risk Supply: Down-rank or remove domains repeatedly flagged for MFA, raising the quality bar across your marketplace.
• Surface Compliance Metrics: Share chain length, seller IDs, and MFA risks in reporting, empowering buyers with verifiable integrity signals.

When each player adopts these tactics, fragmented supply chains evolve into transparent, fraud-free, high-performance channels. That’s the foundation for building lasting trust with brands and agencies.

Next Steps

Building trust with brands and agencies isn’t about adding more complexity, it’s about removing it. Every redundant hop, every unauthorized reseller, every MFA site is an obstacle between marketers and real audiences. By validating supply paths, filtering MFA, and automating optimization insights, programmatic players can reduce the noise and focus on inventory that performs.

At HUMAN, we believe supply integrity is not optional; it’s the foundation of trust. That’s why our Compliance Dashboard, MFA Insights, and API-driven workflows give you the tools to see every path, and act decisively. The result is a cleaner, more efficient marketplace where buyers and sellers can invest with confidence.

Connect with your HUMAN team today to learn how to integrate SCO validation, MFA detection, and compliance automation into your supply strategy. Together, we can turn fragmented supply into transparent, high-performance channels where media dollars work harder.