An advertisement in Monday's issue of The Gainesville Sun is drawing criticism from some of the paper's readers.
The advertisement began with "Barack Obama and the Democrats did not inherit the bad economy; they caused it and made it worse."
Some subscribers went as far as canceling their subscriptions, The Gainesville Sun reported Tuesday.
According to the Web site of the group that placed the ad, the U.S. Citizens Association, the organization's goal is to halt "the slide to socialism that America is on course for today."
Though the ad went on to make claims about the Obama campaign's policies, some readers were more concerned with the layout of the advertisement.
"There's a tiny disclaimer saying 'advertisement' at the top of the page, but it looks like a news story," said Tom Miller, a 43-year-old Gainesville resident.
"It is difficult to distinguish what's news and what is not."
Though Miller said he understands newspapers are struggling to stay in business, he said they also "have a responsibility to make sure there is some sense of accuracy" when running advertisements that could be "suspicious or misleading."
He added he is concerned that "anyone with money can put anything they want in the paper."
Mike Foley, UF professor of journalism and former editor of the St. Petersburg Times, said he was surprised the font of the advertisement was so similar to the style used for news stories. He also said he was disappointed the text identifying the page as an advertisement was so small.
Requests for comment made to the publisher of the newspaper were referred to the advertising department, which did not immediately return calls.
