This report provides analyses by the Illuminating 2020 project on the topics in the ads the Biden and Trump campaigns ran on Facebook and Instagram during the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Illuminating 2020 Message Topic Report
Illuminating 2020 Report: The 2020 General Election Campaign Advertising on Facebook
Former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump spent a historic $217 million advertising on the Facebook and Instagram social media platforms during the 2020 general election. This report provides analyses by the Illuminating 2020 project for how both campaigns used Facebook and Instagram advertising in the general election campaign, including targeting and messaging.
How Biden Used Facebook Ads in Arizona
Biden’s historic win in Arizona created reason to explore how he advertised on Facebook in Arizona, and how that differed from how he advertised overall.
Examining how the candidates’ amount spent per view changed throughout the campaign
Earlier in the summer, Donald Trump consistently had a lower spend per 1000 views than Joe Biden. However, in many of the final weeks before the election, it was Joe Biden’s ads that had a lower spend per view.
Facebook’s election advertising restrictions: an overview
In anticipation of a contentious presidential election, Facebook announced in September 2020 that it would make two changes to its treatment of ads about “social issues, elections or politics” in the US. This post provides an overview of these changes.
Trump’s Ad Spending Breakdown in the “Latinos for Trump” Facebook Page
With the election finally decided, it is clear that the 2020 election was far from predictable. Several key voting demographics defied polling and created an unexpected outcome. In this article, we take a look at the “Latinos for Trump” Facebook page and how ads were used to influence this key demographic of voters.
All Eyes on Georgia: How Candidates are Spending in the Peach State
As Election Day ballots are being cast, both candidates are hoping their ad spending efforts in Georgia have paid off. In this post, we take a look at how the candidates are using different types of Facebook ads to appeal to Georgia voters.
The Biden campaign is running ads for Jill Biden’s chicken parmesan recipe
The Biden campaign has started running ads from a staggering 26 additional pages over the last two weeks, including pages for established media outlets. The ads the Biden campaign has run from pages for some of these media outlets are worth more closely scrutinizing.
Campaigns’ Different Strategies in States on the Edge
Campaigns may have different strategies depending on if a state leans towards them or their opponent. In this post, Illuminating lead researcher Jeff Hemsley investigates if the Trump and Biden campaigns are using different Facebook ad strategies in six key contested states, including Iowa, Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona.
The Year of the Youth Vote: How Candidates are Targeting 18 to 24 Year-Olds Through Advertising
Historically, youth voters (ages 18-29) have had the lowest voter turnout when participating in national and local elections. With 23 million eligible Gen Z voters this year, almost 16 million more than could vote in the 2016 election, this large but historically inactive voting demographic is a challenging yet necessary group of voters that presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump have targeted using Facebook and Instagram advertisements. Using the Illuminating Data, we are able to break down how each candidate is tackling the younger portion of this demographic (ages 18 to 24). Both candidates have different strategies on how to reach young adults, but employ these strategies in a way that targets social issues young Americans care about in attempts to mobilize this age group.