{"id":381,"date":"2020-11-14T20:55:38","date_gmt":"2020-11-14T20:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/?page_id=381"},"modified":"2020-11-19T16:03:59","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T16:03:59","slug":"advertising-on-facebook-transparency-but-not-transparent-enough","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/advertising-on-facebook-transparency-but-not-transparent-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Advertising on Facebook: transparency, but not transparent enough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:25%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"456\" height=\"453\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jennifer_Stromer-Galley_-_Stromer-Galley_photo.png?resize=456%2C453&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jennifer_Stromer-Galley_-_Stromer-Galley_photo.png?w=456&amp;ssl=1 456w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jennifer_Stromer-Galley_-_Stromer-Galley_photo.png?resize=300%2C298&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jennifer_Stromer-Galley_-_Stromer-Galley_photo.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jennifer_Stromer-Galley_-_Stromer-Galley_photo.png?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"US205bio\"><em><strong>Prof Jennifer Stromer-Galley <\/strong><\/em><br><br><em>Professor at Syracuse University<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"456\" height=\"453\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Patricia_Rossini_-_Stromer-Galley_et_al-Rossini_Headshot.png?resize=456%2C453&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Patricia_Rossini_-_Stromer-Galley_et_al-Rossini_Headshot.png?w=456&amp;ssl=1 456w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Patricia_Rossini_-_Stromer-Galley_et_al-Rossini_Headshot.png?resize=300%2C298&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Patricia_Rossini_-_Stromer-Galley_et_al-Rossini_Headshot.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Patricia_Rossini_-_Stromer-Galley_et_al-Rossini_Headshot.png?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"US205bio\"><em><strong>Dr Patricia Rossini<br><\/strong><\/em><br><em>Derby Fellow at the Department of Communication and Media, University of Liverpool<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"456\" height=\"453\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Brian_McKernan_-_Stromer-Galley_Brian_McKernan_Photo.png?resize=456%2C453&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Brian_McKernan_-_Stromer-Galley_Brian_McKernan_Photo.png?w=456&amp;ssl=1 456w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Brian_McKernan_-_Stromer-Galley_Brian_McKernan_Photo.png?resize=300%2C298&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Brian_McKernan_-_Stromer-Galley_Brian_McKernan_Photo.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Brian_McKernan_-_Stromer-Galley_Brian_McKernan_Photo.png?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"US205bio\"><em><strong>Dr Brian McKernan <\/strong><\/em><br><br><em>Research assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"456\" height=\"453\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jeff_Hemsley_-_STROMER-GALLEY-Hemsley-Head-Shot.png?resize=456%2C453&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jeff_Hemsley_-_STROMER-GALLEY-Hemsley-Head-Shot.png?w=456&amp;ssl=1 456w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jeff_Hemsley_-_STROMER-GALLEY-Hemsley-Head-Shot.png?resize=300%2C298&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jeff_Hemsley_-_STROMER-GALLEY-Hemsley-Head-Shot.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Jeff_Hemsley_-_STROMER-GALLEY-Hemsley-Head-Shot.png?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"US205bio\"><em><strong>Dr Jeff Hemsley<br><\/strong><\/em><br><em>Associate<\/em> <em>Professor at the iSchool at Syracuse University<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"308\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/US20_divider_5_social_media.png?resize=400%2C308&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/US20_divider_5_social_media.png?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/US20_divider_5_social_media.png?resize=300%2C231&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<h5 class=\"US205\"> Section 5: Social media<\/h5>\n<div class=\"page-list\"><ul class=\"list-group-item\"><li class=\"page_item page-item-328\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/media-and-social-media-platforms-finally-begin-to-embrace-their-roles-as-democratic-gatekeepers\/\">Media and social media platforms finally begin to embrace their roles as democratic gatekeepers<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-331\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/did-social-media-make-us-more-or-less-politically-unequal-in-2020\/\">Did social media make us more or less politically unequal in 2020?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-335\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/platform-transparency-in-the-fight-against-disinformation\/\">Platform transparency in the fight against disinformation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-341\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/why-trumps-determination-to-sow-doubt-about-data-undermines-democracy\/\">Why Trump\u2019s determination to sow doubt about data undermines democracy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-344\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/a-banner-year-for-advertising-and-a-look-at-differences-across-platforms\/\">A banner year for advertising and a look at differences across platforms<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-350\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/how-joe-biden-conveyed-empathy\/\">How Joe Biden conveyed empathy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-353\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/the-debates-and-the-election-conversation-on-twitter\/\">The debates and the election conversation on Twitter<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-356\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/did-the-economy-covid-19-or-black-lives-matter-to-the-senate-candidates-in-2020\/\">Did the economy, COVID-19, or Black Lives Matter to the Senate candidates in 2020?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-362\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/leadership-through-showmanship-trumps-ability-to-coin-nicknames-for-opponents-on-twitter\/\">Leadership through showmanship: Trump\u2019s ability to coin nicknames for opponents on Twitter<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-366\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/election-countdown-instagrams-role-in-visualizing-the-2020-campaign\/\">Election countdown: Instagram\u2019s role in visualizing the 2020 campaign<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-371\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/candidates-did-lackluster-youth-targeting-on-instagram\/\">Candidates did lackluster youth targeting on Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-374\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/college-students-political-engagement-and-snapchat-in-the-2020-general-election\/\">College students, political engagement and Snapchat in the 2020 general election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-391\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2020\/section-5-social-media\/detecting-emotions-in-facebook-political-ads-with-computer-vision\/\">Detecting emotions in Facebook political ads with computer vision<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:75%\">\n<p>In 2016, much concern was raised about advertising on social media, especially Facebook. A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2016-10-27\/inside-the-trump-bunker-with-12-days-to-go\">Bloomberg story<\/a>&nbsp;at the end of the 2016 election noted that the Trump campaign used Facebook advertising specifically to target pockets of Democratic voters to demobilize them from voting for Hillary Clinton. Without any way to systematically monitor ads on Facebook, researchers were left with anecdotes to determine who was targeted and what was said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2018, Facebook created an ad library for journalists and researchers. Our project, Illuminating 2020, tracked the spending, targets, and content of ad buys on Facebook and Instagram and created a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/illuminating.ischool.syr.edu\/\">dashboard&nbsp;<\/a>to visualize the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using computational techniques to classify the content in ads, with at least 75% accuracy for each category, we find noteworthy differences in how the campaigns communicated on the platforms. Our research suggests that advertising largely reflected the demographic trends of the Republican and Democratic Parties and the rhetorical trends of the candidates. Unfortunately, because of the limitations of data reporting from Facebook, it is challenging to ascertain fine-grained micro-targeting practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Overall Spending and Trends<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Facebook advertising was a major focus of total overall ad spending by Donald Trump and Joe Biden. As much as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mediaproject.wesleyan.edu\/releases-102920\/\">$1.5 billion<\/a>&nbsp;was spent overall on advertising, from television to radio to digital media, between April 6 and October 25. A major share of that spending was on Facebook. Our analysis suggests that, of the ads associated with their official campaign pages, the Biden campaign spent $76.9 million between June 1 and November 1, and the Trump campaign spent $87.2 million. This amount is significantly more than the campaigns spent in 2016: Trump spent an estimated $44 million and Clinton spent $28 million between June and November, according to a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/facebook\/2018\/04\/04\/facebook-confirms-trumps-ads-bested-clintons-during-presidential-bid\/\">Facebook report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the Trump campaign spent more on Facebook overall, between October 5 and November 1, 2020 Biden outspent Trump 4:3. Biden had his largest new ad buys on Facebook over the second presidential debate, which took place on October 22<sup>nd<\/sup>, spending over $10 million as compared with Trump\u2019s $7.5 million (See Figure 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"648\" height=\"389\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?resize=648%2C389&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?resize=1024%2C614&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?resize=300%2C180&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?resize=768%2C461&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?resize=1536%2C921&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?resize=2048%2C1228&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?w=1296&amp;ssl=1 1296w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Stromer-Galley-Figure-1.png?w=1944&amp;ssl=1 1944w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Figure 1: Facebook ad Spending over time<\/strong><br><strong>by Biden and Trump, June 1 to Nov. 1, 2020<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Demographic Targets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When looking across the five months of the campaign, from June 1 until November 1, 2020, the overall targeting of demographic groups matched the demographics of the political parties. Biden overweighted women in his targeted spending, which reflects the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2020\/08\/18\/men-and-women-in-the-u-s-continue-to-differ-in-voter-turnout-rate-party-identification\/\">gender skew<\/a>&nbsp;in the Democratic party (See Figure 2). The two campaigns had distinctly different age targeting strategies. The Trump campaign prioritized ad spending to people 45 and older, while the Biden campaign focused heavily on the 25-44 age brackets, mirroring the differences in age demographics of the two parties. Millennials are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2018\/03\/20\/1-trends-in-party-affiliation-among-demographic-groups\/\">more likely<\/a>&nbsp;to lean Democrat, while the Silent Generation is more likely to lean Republican. Neither campaign focused resources heavily on the youngest voters &#8211; those in the 18-24 age bracket &#8211; even though this group most heavily uses social media, especially Instagram. Both campaigns heavily targeted the 65+ category, even though&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/internet\/fact-sheet\/social-media\/\">less than 50%<\/a>&nbsp;of Americans in that age bracket are on any social media platforms. To us, that speaks to the power of social media advertising for micro-targeting the nations\u2019 most&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2020\/10\/09\/voter-engagement-and-interest-voting-by-mail-and-in-person\/\">motivated voters<\/a>&nbsp;(See Figure 3). Lacking in Facebook data is information about education level, race and ethnicity, religion, and location data beyond the level of the state to ascertain micro-targeting strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_2.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"648\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_2.png?resize=648%2C405&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_2.png?resize=1024%2C640&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_2.png?resize=300%2C187&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_2.png?resize=768%2C480&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_2.png?w=1063&amp;ssl=1 1063w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Figure 2: Facebook ad spending by age category between June 1 and Nov. 1, 2020<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_3.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"648\" height=\"455\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_3.png?resize=648%2C455&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_3.png?resize=1024%2C719&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_3.png?resize=300%2C211&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_3.png?resize=768%2C539&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_3.png?w=1046&amp;ssl=1 1046w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Figure 3: Facebook ad spending by gender<\/strong><br><strong>between June 1 and Nov. 1, 2020<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Messaging<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a high level, Trump\u2019s advertisements on Facebook looked much like his campaign rhetoric. He attacked his opponents &#8211; Biden, Harris, and the news media \u2013 and did so often with an uncivil tone. The Biden advertisements tended to emphasize his personality and ability to lead and were overwhelmingly civil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nearly all ads call targets to action in the text &#8211; ranging from fundraising to polls to petitions. Beyond that, there are distinct differences in messaging strategy. Biden spent more on advocacy ads, while Trump spent more on attack ads. When Trump attacked, he was more likely to attack Biden\u2019s policies, while when Biden attacked, he was more likely to attack Trump\u2019s persona &#8211;&nbsp;his character, personality, and ability to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also analyzed whether an ad exhibited uncivil language. We operationalize incivility as hateful, disparaging, and derogatory remarks targeted at another individual or group. Nearly one-third of Trump\u2019s ads contain evidence of incivility, while a fraction of Biden\u2019s ads were uncivil in tone. (Figure 4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_4.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"648\" height=\"488\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_4.png?resize=648%2C488&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_4.png?resize=1024%2C771&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_4.png?resize=300%2C226&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_4.png?resize=768%2C579&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/stromer_figure_4.png?w=1046&amp;ssl=1 1046w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Figure 4: Facebook ad spending by civility<\/strong><br><strong>between June 1 and Nov. 1, 2020<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our analysis suggests that party demographics drove targeting strategy. We also found that the rhetoric in the advertisements largely matched the rhetoric by the candidates on the campaign trail. Trump\u2019s ads show evidence of the same&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/a-field-guide-to-trumps-dangerous-rhetoric-139531\">personal attacks<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/trump-accepts-the-nomination-from-the-white-house-lawn-portraying-a-nation-in-crisis-and-himself-as-its-hero-144909\">self-aggrandizement<\/a>&nbsp;as his campaign speeches. The challenge for researchers is the lack of fine-grained targeting data to ascertain whether the campaigns undertook the same demobilization approaches in 2020 as reported in 2016. While we gain a high-level view, the extent of microtargeting is unfortunately left to guesswork.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prof Jennifer Stromer-Galley Professor at Syracuse University Dr Patricia RossiniDerby Fellow at the Department of Communication and Media, University of Liverpool Dr Brian McKernan Research assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University Dr Jeff HemsleyAssociate Professor at the iSchool at Syracuse University In 2016, much concern was raised about advertising on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":22,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-381","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Advertising on Facebook: transparency, but not transparent enough - 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