Presidential candidates are running a ton of Facebook ads about animal cruelty, and there's a strategic reason for that
The 2020 candidate who most heavily promotes animal rights issues on Facebook is President Donald Trump.
Mike Bloomberg has run at least nine different Facebook ad campaigns promoting his "record on animal welfare," featuring cute pictures of dogs and cats.
Bloomberg has bought more Facebook ads than any other politician or business this year, pouring more than $23.7 million into ads on the platform since the start of 2019, according to the ad archive.
Bloomberg has run nine different ad campaigns about animal rights in the past month alone. The ads feature wide-eyed puppies and kittens alongside a bold message: "MIKE SAVES ANIMALS."
Senator Elizabeth Warren hasn't touted her platform on animal rights in any Facebook ads, but she has run ads that feature her dog, Bailey.
Warren's campaign has made Bailey a surrogate of sorts, sending him to Iowa to campaign for the Senator. It has also advertised Bailey merch on Facebook. The campaign has run over 100 Facebook ads featuring Bailey, according to the ad archive.
Other candidates haven't paid for Facebook ads about animal rights, but have published organic posts on the subject.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg shared a story of adopting a dog, along with a call to "#ClearTheShelters."
Both Trump and Bloomberg promote petitions on Facebook that call for an end to animal cruelty. When people sign the petitions, they hand over their name and contact information to the campaigns.
Circulating petitions is a common fundraising technique, drawing people to campaigns' websites and acquiring the contact information of signees. According to The Guardian's report, nearly 10% of Trump's Facebook ads include a call to sign a petition.
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