The outside online air wars begin ✈️
PACs launch new targeted online ads in the presidential race
FWIW, this week’s newsletter is sponsored by Civic Shout
Happy Friday and welcome back to FWIW. Believe it or not, there are only 19 more Friday editions of this newsletter until Election Day. 😱 We’ll try to make them count.
As the presidential campaign kicks into gear, we’re starting to see several outside groups - Super PACs and 501(c)4 nonprofits - begin to spend large sums of money on digital ads in the presidential race. In 2020, a broad coalition of nearly two dozen anti-MAGA advertisers spent tens of millions of dollars online criticizing Trump’s COVID response and administration chaos. This time around, the amount of money being spent is about the same – but fewer groups are spending as heavily.
Here’s a look at presidential IE spending on Facebook & Instagram and Google & YouTube in the past 30 days vs. the same 30-day period in 2020:
Back then, Democratic outside groups and their mostly big-money donors were eager to take on Trump - with new organizations like The Lincoln Project, Republican Accountability Project, and PACRONYM joining longtime major spenders like Priorities USA and American Bridge to run large-scale ad campaigns. Now, anti-Trump spending on the Left has consolidated, and a few prominent advertisers have yet to launch major campaigns.
For Democrats, the top spending presidential IE’s in the past month online have been American Bridge, Future Forward, and Defending Democracy Together / Republicans for the Rule of Law. American Bridge, for example, is targeting the rust belt swing states with YouTube ads about Trump tax policies favoring the rich, while Future Forward is running TV-style ads highlighting Biden’s record on manufacturing, clean energy, and lowering costs. Republicans for the Rule of Law is currently waging a campaign highlighting Trump’s immunity case before the Supreme Court.
For Republicans, Americans for Prosperity, MAGA Inc, and Securing American Greatness have been the largest spenders in the presidential race online in the past month. Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity’s ads rail against “Bidenomics,” as do these recent ads from pro-Trump Super PAC MAGA Inc. Securing American Greatness, a relative newcomer to the outside spending party, is also running ads on inflation and tying the issue to “dementia."
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Digital ad spending, by the numbers:
FWIW, political advertisers spent just over $13.2 million on Facebook and Instagram ads last week. These were the top ten spenders nationwide:
Right-wing media company The Blaze is running a major ad campaign on Facebook promoting a documentary that casts doubt on the integrity of American elections and “explains” how elections can be “stolen” due to “Soros-funded Secretaries of State.” Meta is actively allowing these ads to run. As a reminder, the company’s policies allow political advertisers to run ads saying the 2020 election was stolen but supposedly prohibit groups from casting doubt on the integrity of upcoming elections.
Progressive squad member Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) is facing a tough primary from a local Democratic County Executive next week - and we’re seeing huge amounts of spending in that race. Bowman, never a party establishment kind of guy, is embracing President Biden in new Facebook ads, asserting that he’s supported President Biden’s “full agenda.” In other ads, he’s explaining why he was one of only six Democrats to vote against the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
Meanwhile, political campaigns spent $7.1 million on Google and YouTube ads last week. Here were the top ten spenders nationwide:
On Snapchat, political advertisers in the U.S. have spent $2.3 million on ads year to date. Here are the top spenders:
…and on X (formerly Twitter), political advertisers have spent over $4.7 million on the platform in 2024. Here are the top spending accounts:
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) (of Speaker of the House drama infamy) joined the top spenders on X/Twitter this week by running new fundraising ads attacking Biden and boosting Trump.
Your 2024 digital dispatch
FWIW, here’s how weekly digital ad spending (Facebook/Instagram, Google/YouTube) compares between the Trump and Biden campaigns year-to-date:
The Biden campaign continues to outspend the Trump campaign online in spectacular fashion. To date in 2024, team Biden has spent over $36 million on Meta and Google platforms, while the Trump campaign has spent around $10 million. While nearly all of Trump’s ads are focused on grassroots fundraising and event promotion, the Biden campaign is spending heavily to reach targeted segments of voters with strategic persuasion messaging.
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More from around the internet:
This summer’s DNC convention plans to provide online influencers the same level of access and information that traditional media outlets receive, according to the Washington Post.
AXIOS wants everyone to prepare themselves for the upcoming meme wars between the Trump and Biden camps that could kick off with viral clips from next Thursday’s presidential debate.
TikTok is in further trouble with the federal government after the FTC tapped the Department of Justice to handle a complaint that TikTok is violating a law that protects children’s online privacy.
Buoyed by his post-conviction fundraising, Donald Trump’s campaign is catching up to team Biden in terms of fundraising.
Casey Newton at Platformer thinks that the potentially catastrophic impact of generative AI on our elections has thus far been overstated.
The vibes on TikTok last week:
FWIW, here’s a look at 10 of the most-liked videos mentioning Trump on TikTok in the past week:
This week was a very positive one for Trump on TikTok – and the Trump camp continues to make use of TikTok, with two of the top videos mentioning Trump this week coming from @donaldtrumpjr and @maga (the super PAC supporting Trump). Clips from Logan Paul’s @impaulsive interview with Trump, including one of Trump bashing Biden and one of Trump on the debate, garnered a lot of attention.
Meanwhile, here were some of the most-liked videos mentioning Biden in the past week:
The vibes this week on TikTok for President Biden were a bit rough. A ton of the top content was non-English news for US and international audiences, and most of them, including the viral videos from @saladunivers, @latinus_us, and @ceoofitaly_official, were about an awkward moment at the G7 summit. However, there were also several trending videos, like this one from @dailymail, that addressed Biden’s executive action that will provide relief to thousands of undocumented immigrants.
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