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Native advertising has come under fire for being deceptive. It is, claim critics, an attempt to fool readers into thinking they’re consuming content produced by the publication itself when in fact they’re consuming an ad. It’s this criticism that led Outbrain CEO Yaron Galai to ban ads masquerading as articles.

Outbrain banned native advertising from the inventory of content it promotes on websites.

In an AdAge post, Rafat Ali suggests the following ways to improve branded content: Approach a native advertising assignment from the customer’s perspective, answering their questions and solving their problems. Go deep, with a narrow focus and uniquely valuable content that appeals to a defined audience subset. Offer data not easily found elsewhere that provides genuine insight, including new ways to understand the business. Approach native advertising like an editor, not a marketer.

The labor board’s rulings, which apply to virtually all private sector employers, generally tell companies that it is illegal to adopt broad social media policies — like bans on “disrespectful” comments or posts that criticize the employer — if those policies discourage workers from exercising their right to communicate with one another with the aim of improving wages, benefits or working conditions.

Employers often seek to discourage comments that paint them in a negative light. Don’t discuss company matters publicly, a typical social media policy will say, and don’t disparage managers, co-workers or the company itself. Violations can be a firing offense. But in a series of recent rulings and advisories, labor regulators have declared many such blanket restrictions illegal.

The National Labor Relations Board says workers have a right to discuss work conditions freely and without fear of retribution, whether the discussion takes place at the office or on Facebook.