Post-Debate Analysis: Biden and Trump have distinct differences on the issues

Post-Debate Analysis: Biden and Trump have distinct differences on the issues

Learning Biden’s and Trump’s visions for the future are critical, now more than ever. Unfortunately, the post-debate analysis was unanimous: the public did not get to hear in depth how Trump and Biden will tackle the pressing issues.

Our team at the Illuminating 2020 project analyzed Biden’s and Trump’s messaging in their Facebook and Instagram ads on the issues. Our curiosity was whether the public could glean some understanding of the two candidates’ policies in their ads. Our analysis suggests that Biden, in particular, is less likely to share his policy positions in his ads. He is more likely to emphasize his character and personality and to attack Trump.

Exploring Illuminating’s 12 topic categories for the 2020 Presidential Election campaign ads

Exploring Illuminating’s 12 topic categories for the 2020 Presidential Election campaign ads

Due to the sheer magnitude of the Facebook and Instagram ads run by 2020 presidential campaigns, the Illuminating 2020 Project developed Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to automatically classify ads by message topic. This post breaks down the topic classifications used by the ML model to understand how the Trump and Biden campaigns attempt to persuade the public.

Why you’re getting so many political text messages right now

People holding smartphones in their hands. The focus of the image is on the hands holding the smartphones. Only one person's face appears and it is blurred.

Text messages and emails from political campaigns are pouring into Americans’ phones and inboxes right now. This is because campaign operatives believe that the more messages they send, the greater the odds that you will act. Each time you act, the campaign gets insight on what types of messages seem to work with you. They’ll learn from your responses, and send you more messages, in the hopes you’ll stay involved and that they can eventually secure your vote.