FAQ
Facebook has become one of the major ways that politicians, PACs and other political actors attempt to influence US voters. Political spending on digital ads is expected to cross the $1 billion threshold in the 2020 elections, a new record, and Facebook’s share will be more than half, according to one estimate; another estimate pins the total closer to $2 billion.
Facebook has become one of the major ways that politicians, PACs and other political actors attempt to influence US voters. Political spending on digital ads is expected to cross the $1 billion threshold in the 2020 elections, a new record, and Facebook’s share will be more than half, according to one estimate; another estimate pins the total closer to $2 billion.
We need better transparency for Facebook political ads. Broadcast stations are required by law to disclose political ad buys on TV and radio to the public. No similar requirement applies to political ads on Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Hulu and other online media. Facebook has taken steps by voluntarily disclosing political ad content and data through its online Ad Library. But the library is complicated to use, untold numbers of political ads are missing, and a significant element is lacking: how advertisers choose which specific demographics and groups of people should see their ad — and who shouldn't.
We need better transparency for Facebook political ads. Broadcast stations are required by law to disclose political ad buys on TV and radio to the public. No similar requirement applies to political ads on Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Hulu and other online media. Facebook has taken steps by voluntarily disclosing political ad content and data through its online Ad Library. But the library is complicated to use, untold numbers of political ads are missing, and a significant element is lacking: how advertisers choose which specific demographics and groups of people should see their ad — and who shouldn't.
The Facebook Ad Observatory provides pages to understand races for Senate, House and governor and to discover who is targeting ads in your state: often special interest groups and industry "coalitions". While the 2020 presidential candidates rely heavily on Facebook advertising because it makes it easy to attract donations and email-signups, the lower cost of online advertising compared to TV is particularly appealing for candidates running campaigns in a particular state.
The Facebook Ad Observatory provides pages to understand races for Senate, House and governor and to discover who is targeting ads in your state: often special interest groups and industry "coalitions". While the 2020 presidential candidates rely heavily on Facebook advertising because it makes it easy to attract donations and email-signups, the lower cost of online advertising compared to TV is particularly appealing for candidates running campaigns in a particular state.
The Ad Observatory includes information from the Ad Observer project and combines it with information from the Facebook Library API. The Ad Observer project is a browser plugin installed by volunteers that lets them automatically share data about the Facebook ads that they're shown (and how those ads are targeted) with us. No personal information from volunteers is collected.
The Ad Observatory includes information from the Ad Observer project and combines it with information from the Facebook Library API. The Ad Observer project is a browser plugin installed by volunteers that lets them automatically share data about the Facebook ads that they're shown (and how those ads are targeted) with us. No personal information from volunteers is collected.
Because there are often large numbers of minor variations on a single Facebook political ad, NYU researchers group ads into “ad campaigns,” or groups of ads that are nearly identical, for ease of analysis by journalists and researchers. Using a combination of machine learning techniques and human input, the NYU team classifies these ads by topic, making it possible to search for ads that cover subjections such as “civil rights” or “pandemic.” In addition, the NYU team classifies ads by ad objective–is the ad being used to raise money? Motivate? Where it’s available from the Ad Observer plugin tool data, the team also includes information on how ads are targeted to specific audiences.
Because there are often large numbers of minor variations on a single Facebook political ad, NYU researchers group ads into “ad campaigns,” or groups of ads that are nearly identical, for ease of analysis by journalists and researchers. Using a combination of machine learning techniques and human input, the NYU team classifies these ads by topic, making it possible to search for ads that cover subjections such as “civil rights” or “pandemic.” In addition, the NYU team classifies ads by ad objective–is the ad being used to raise money? Motivate? Where it’s available from the Ad Observer plugin tool data, the team also includes information on how ads are targeted to specific audiences.
Spending totals for Donald Trump's presidential campaign aggregate spending from both Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. (the campaign commitee) and Trump Make America Great Again Committee (the joint fundraising committee with the RNC); Biden's totals include Biden for President (the campaign committee) and Biden Victory Fund (the joint fundraising committee with the DNC and state Democratic parties).
The Trump campaign has numerous separate Facebook pages that it uses for ads, including Trump's page, Mike Pence's and ones like Black Voices for Trump. Spending from all of these pages is included in the Donald Trump total on the Ad Observatory.
Learn more about how the campaigns raise and spend money at OpenSecrets from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Spending totals for Donald Trump's presidential campaign aggregate spending from both Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. (the campaign commitee) and Trump Make America Great Again Committee (the joint fundraising committee with the RNC); Biden's totals include Biden for President (the campaign committee) and Biden Victory Fund (the joint fundraising committee with the DNC and state Democratic parties).
The Trump campaign has numerous separate Facebook pages that it uses for ads, including Trump's page, Mike Pence's and ones like Black Voices for Trump. Spending from all of these pages is included in the Donald Trump total on the Ad Observatory.
Learn more about how the campaigns raise and spend money at OpenSecrets from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Facebook only reports broad ranges for spend of individual ads, instead of exact numbers. In order to estimate the spend of particular ads, we incorporate multiple sources of data.
- We collect all ads going as far back in history as possible every day from the Facebook Ad Library API. In addition to other details about the ad, we record the ad’s start date and if it is currently active or not. From this, we are able to determine each ad’s effective start and stop date.
- We also collect Facebook’s Ad Library Report every day, which lists, for each page and disclosure string combination, the amount spent by that combination over the history of the Ad Library. To get the most accurate estimate of how much was spent on a particular day by an advertiser, we subtract the amount spent up to the prior day from the amount spent up to the day we are estimating spend for.
Each day, we distribute the amount spent for the most recent day for which we have an Ad Library Report to the ads we know were active on that day. We do this by dividing the amount spent by the number of active ads proportionally to those ads' reported minimum spends and adding that amount to the spend estimate of each of those active ads. When we present spend data over time, we estimate the spend per day of an ad as the total estimated spend for the ad divided by the number of days the ad was active.
Sometimes, the lifetime spend reported in the Facebook Ad Library Report for an advertiser appears to decrease day over day. We have been told by Facebook that this is because spend attributed to ads that ran on a given day can take up to five days to settle. Sometimes this negative delta is small, but it can be quite large. Also, sometimes these negative deltas actually represent an apparent correction after an incorrectly reported large increase in spend the previous day. To manage these apparently erroneous spikes and dips, when we observe a large single-day swing in either direction, and then a correction in the other direction on the subsequent day, we smooth the spend reported on the day of the correction over the period of the spike or dip.
Facebook only reports broad ranges for spend of individual ads, instead of exact numbers. In order to estimate the spend of particular ads, we incorporate multiple sources of data.
- We collect all ads going as far back in history as possible every day from the Facebook Ad Library API. In addition to other details about the ad, we record the ad’s start date and if it is currently active or not. From this, we are able to determine each ad’s effective start and stop date.
- We also collect Facebook’s Ad Library Report every day, which lists, for each page and disclosure string combination, the amount spent by that combination over the history of the Ad Library. To get the most accurate estimate of how much was spent on a particular day by an advertiser, we subtract the amount spent up to the prior day from the amount spent up to the day we are estimating spend for.
Each day, we distribute the amount spent for the most recent day for which we have an Ad Library Report to the ads we know were active on that day. We do this by dividing the amount spent by the number of active ads proportionally to those ads' reported minimum spends and adding that amount to the spend estimate of each of those active ads. When we present spend data over time, we estimate the spend per day of an ad as the total estimated spend for the ad divided by the number of days the ad was active.
Sometimes, the lifetime spend reported in the Facebook Ad Library Report for an advertiser appears to decrease day over day. We have been told by Facebook that this is because spend attributed to ads that ran on a given day can take up to five days to settle. Sometimes this negative delta is small, but it can be quite large. Also, sometimes these negative deltas actually represent an apparent correction after an incorrectly reported large increase in spend the previous day. To manage these apparently erroneous spikes and dips, when we observe a large single-day swing in either direction, and then a correction in the other direction on the subsequent day, we smooth the spend reported on the day of the correction over the period of the spike or dip.
We offer a free data download feature for journalists. The Facebook Ad Observatory provides simple downloads of ad data based on search criteria, such as all ads in a state on a particular topic. To enable this feature, we ask you to register with the site. We will use this information primarily to track demand for this information. We will not share your name or organizational affiliation. Questions? Contact us.
We offer a free data download feature for journalists. The Facebook Ad Observatory provides simple downloads of ad data based on search criteria, such as all ads in a state on a particular topic. To enable this feature, we ask you to register with the site. We will use this information primarily to track demand for this information. We will not share your name or organizational affiliation. Questions? Contact us.
Please contact the project team at info@adobservatory.org.
Please contact the project team at info@adobservatory.org.