NYT: O’Rourke second only to Trump on Facebook spending
Facebook is essential for politicians trying to reach the masses and evangelize campaign messages.
The New York Times reports former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke is the only other politician or candidate who even comes close to President Trump and his political action committee.
Trump spent $274,000 since the start of May, far exceeding the second-runner up, Planned Parenthood, which spent more than $188,000, according to the New York Times.
The social media giant now requires political ad buyers to be verified United States citizens, or permanent residents to curb foreign influence. Researchers from New York University used public Facebook data to compile information based on groups and individuals buying ads.
They broke out the top 449 spenders of political ads on Facebook since May for The New York Times: 210 were left-wing groups, 124 were right-wing groups and 115 groups were politically neutral.
According to the research, O’Rourke spent $194,000 during the same time period. O’Rourke’s ads reached roughly 13 million people, research showed, while additional political figures reached merely hundreds of thousands of users, spending less than $100,000 on ads.
The 25 to 34 age demographic was the most targeted when it comes to ad spending; users under 17 and above 65 were the least sought after.
Researchers said they also found 43,575 political ads that had no mention of a sponsor, indicating the purchaser evaded Facebook’s verification process.
ABC-7 researched campaign finance reports and learned that since the beginning of the year, the O’Rourke campaign has spent more than $2.4 million on digital and web services, compared to the more than $134,000 the Ted Cruz campaign has spent.
“A digital revolution in terms of social media and politics. I think politics has recognized that. For different clusters of people, but in particular millennial voters, social media is a very powerful way to connect,” said Dr. Richard Pineda, a political analyst at the University of Texas at El Paso.
A spokesman for the Cruz campaign told ABC-7 the difference in digital spending does not mean Senator Cruz is neglecting voters. “We are very innovative and our approaches to social media wIll continue. Senator Cruz has always been a leader when comes to the use of Facebook and Twitter and other social media platforms,” said Chris Wilson, “We’re going to be talking directly to Texans after Labor Day whenever voters actually care about the election, not in July when they just care about taking a vacation.”
Pineda believes Cruz has the advantage, regardless of spending. “In a place like Texas – super conservative – you are an incumbent Republican senator, there’s going to be a lot of things that you don’t have to do,” Pineda said in regards to the Cruz campaign’s strategy.
