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From Trump to Planned Parenthood, these are the Facebook pages spending the most money on political ads
From Trump to Planned Parenthood, these are the Facebook pages spending the most money on political ads
Aaron HolmesNov 14, 2019, 20:49 IST
President Trump tweeted this image of his meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the White House on Thursday 19 September 2019.Facebook/Donald Trump
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Since Facebook began tracking and publicly reporting which pages pay for political ads in May 2018, more than $887 million has been spent on Facebook ads about social issues, elections, or politics.
Of the 18 biggest spenders on Facebook during that window, about a third are directly affiliated with political candidates' campaigns, either for 2018 midterms or the 2020 presidential election.
Other pages pouring millions into political Facebook ads may come as more of a surprise, including gun-rights activists, animal rights groups, and ExxonMobil.
Advertisers have purchased more than $887 million worth of political ads on Facebook since May 2018.
Of that total, at least $21 million was spent by Facebook's No. 1 customer for political ads: the campaign to reelect President Donald Trump. But some of the other pages spending the most on political Facebook ads are a bit more surprising.
Available data on political ads on Facebook dates back to May 2018, when the social network started classifying ads about "social issues, elections, or politics." Advertisers can use Facebook's trove of user data to target ads to specific demographics, including political affiliation, location, gender, and age.
The company is still under fire for how it handles political ads. The tech giant has said it will not fact-check political candidates' ads, prompting outrage from lawmakers and Facebook's own employees alike. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has maintained that the policy is rooted in free speech values.
It's also not entirely clear how Facebook determines which ads are about "social issues, elections, or politics." Earlier this month, Facebook temporarily blocked an LGBTQ health clinic from advertising HIV prevention medicine because it said the page was not authorized to buy political ads.
We compiled a list of Facebook's biggest political ad buyers based on information from its ad archive. The list of the biggest spenders paints a picture of how politicians and special interests are using the platform to influence policy and sway public opinion.
The NRCC buys ads supporting Republican candidates that aren't officially endorsed by those candidates. Many of its recent ads are focused on reelecting Trump in 2020.
18. MoveOn.org Political Action
Total amount spent: $3,076,264
Number of ads bought: 3,426
MoveOn.org Political Action is a progressive PAC that largely supports Democratic candidates. Most of its recent ad buys advocate for impeaching Trump and funding candidates to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
17. Elizabeth Warren
Total amount spent: $3,396,967
Number of ads bought: 18,373
The Senator from Massachusetts has been a vocal critic of Facebook's ad policies, but that hasn't stopped her from advertising heavily on the platform. Last month, she ran an ad with intentionally false claims to criticize the platform's refusal to fact-check political ads.
16. Sierra Club
Total amount spent: $3,482,991
Number of ads bought: 6,037
The Sierra Club aims to raise awareness of environmental issues and advocates for stronger climate protections, making its ads political per Facebook's policy.
15. Planned Parenthood
Total amount spent: $3,514,365
Number of ads bought: 14,777
Many of Planned Parenthood's recent ad buys focus on protecting abortion rights and promoting their clinics' services.
14. 4ocean
Total amount spent: $3,654,791
Number of ads bought: 4,290
4ocean is a for-profit company that sells reusable straws, bags, and cups, as well as bracelets made from recycled garbage. It directs some of its profits to ocean cleanup efforts and says its mission is to rid the oceans of plastic.
13. Pete Buttigieg
Total amount spent: $3,939,258
Number of ads bought: 31,338
Like most political candidates, most of Buttigieg's ads target likely supporters and ask for donations.
12. Bernie Sanders
Total amount spent: $4,132,340
Number of ads bought: 45,740
The Sanders campaign has leveraged its war chest for Facebook ads that target voters across the nation, usually featuring Sanders' positions on healthcare or global warming.
11. Judicial Watch
Total amount spent: $4,169,628
Number of ads bought: 3,485
Judicial watch is a conservative activist nonprofit that focuses on using Freedom of Information Act requests to uncover records related to liberal lawmakers, such as FBI documents related to Hillary Clinton's emails.
10. Finance Watchdogs
Total amount spent: $4,477,875
Number of ads bought: 10,630
Finance Watchdogs is a company that offers consulting on credit card debt and mortgages. Unlike other organizations on this list, the company has no explicit political or social agenda, but it frequently uses pro-Trump imagery and messaging in its Facebook ads, targeting likely Trump supporters.
9. PragerU
Total amount spent: $4,514,913
Number of ads bought: 4,843
PragerU is a right-wing outlet founded by talk show host Dennis Prager whose primary audience is young people. Its largest online presence is its YouTube channel, which has over one billion video views.
8. International Rescue Committee
Total amount spent: $5,168,882
Number of ads bought: 5,439
The IRC is a global nonprofit that aims to assist immigrants and refugees affected by displacement. Like other nonprofits on this list, it uses Facebook ads to promote its accomplishments and solicit donations.
7. ExxonMobil
Total amount spent: $6,157,428
Number of ads bought: 10,541
In addition to ads about its self-proclaimed efforts to preserve the environment, which Facebook classifies as political, Exxon has run a number of ads urging US residents to call their elected official and advocate for trade agreements that benefit the company.
6. Concealed Online
Total amount spent: $6,247,474
Number of ads bought: 25,244
Concealed Online is a for-profit company that offers online certification for concealed-carry gun permits. Most of its ads ran in the months running up to the 2018 midterm elections, according to WIRED, and capitalized on fears about "mob rule" that would result from Democrats being elected. Facebook has retroactively removed most of the organization's ads for violating its policies.
5. Care2
Total amount spent: $6,396,496
Number of ads bought: 16,251
Care2 is a marketing company that attracts people to its site with activism-oriented petitions and offers its clients access to that user base for a price. Facebook ads appear to be one of its primary channels for reaching new users who may be likely to sign petitions — most of its ads feature petitions tied to heart-wrenching stories of animal abuse or injustice.
4. Beto O'Rourke
Total amount spent: $8,154,213
Number of ads bought: 9,642
The bulk of O'Rourke's Facebook ad buys between May 2018 and today took place in the months leading up to the 2018 midterm election, when he lost a bid for Ted Cruz's Senate seat.
3. Tom Steyer
Total amount spent: $10,819,656
Number of ads bought: 16,752
Steyer's Facebook ad buys have been split between his presidential campaign and his Super PAC, Need to Impeach. The billionaire activist's outsize spending on Facebook ads hasn't moved the needle much — he's polling at less than 1% among likely Democrat primary voters.
2. Facebook
Total amount spent: $17,964,964
Number of ads bought: Not disclosed
The second largest buyer of political ads on Facebook is Facebook. The company regularly promotes itself with ads on its own platforms, and a number of those ads — including messages about LGBTQ acceptance, Facebook's housing charity work in San Francisco, and its announcements regarding its own ad policy — are political.
1. Donald Trump
Total amount spent: $21,560,094
Number of ads bought: 286,476
Trump is far ahead of any other 2020 presidential candidate in both fundraising and advertising, and Facebook is no exception. His campaign has repeatedly aired ads that independent fact-checkers determined were false, which Facebook has allowed to remain up.
