January, 2020
Well-publicized debates over Cambridge Analytica and foreign influence campaigns after the 2016 presidential election brought attention not only to the lack of regulation addressing political advertising online but also the increasingly central role that digital advertising platforms play in US elections. During the 2016 cycle, there was little awareness of what campaigns were capable of or what platforms allowed regarding paid political content. Heading into the 2020 US presidential election these are now central concerns.
Below, we document the policies and advertising targeting capabilities of major, easily-accessible digital advertising platforms across over a dozen categories.
In the downloadable report we outline five key takeaways from this research and detail what they mean for future US elections. This report focuses on the facts and issues that we do not often see being discussed or acknowledged adequately in journalistic, academic, and other research.
Who are the players?
We focus on the major social media and digital advertising platforms that are accessible to both large and small advertisers. These platforms do not require human contact between the advertiser and the platform to start running ads. Advertisers can simply create an account and launch a campaign. Here are the main players:
Facebook and Instagram
Advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, Facebook’s Audience Network and Messenger are all run by boosting a post or in Facebook’s Ad Manager. Currently, political advertisements are not allowed on Facebook Audience Network or Messenger, leaving Facebook and Instagram as the primary carriers of political advertisements. The rules for advertising on these platforms are mostly the same, though ads on Instagram must follow Instagram’s Community Guidelines in addition to Facebook’s.
Google (including Youtube)
Parent company Alphabet has multiple advertising-related products and platforms. We focus only on the most easily accessible subset of these: Google Ads. Google Ads (previously AdWords) includes search engine advertisements, banner ads, video ads (including YouTube), and Gmail ads. Not included in this analysis is DV360, Google’s demand-side platform that connects to the larger programmatic media-buying ecosystem and any capabilities solely accessible through Google’s API.
Reddit’s advertising platform is significantly more limited than the other companies. Its barebones capabilities and ambiguous rules are likely why it has not been adopted by many advertisers and serves as an as interesting point of comparison to Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, and YouTube.
Snapchat
Snapchat’s smaller and younger user base compared with Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube has largely kept it from being widely used by political advertisers. However, its approach to political advertising moderation and transparency raises interesting alternative approaches to the larger platforms.
Twitter has banned political advertising, but by having to define what is prohibited “political content” and what is restricted “cause-based” content, Twitter’s rules are an interesting and informative point of comparison with other platforms.
Platforms’ political advertising policies
The table below offers a comparison of the platforms’ policies. Navigate the table by scrolling horizontally. Use the search bar to filter to row.
Open the Comparison Table
| Facebook (including Instagram) | Google Adwords (including YouTube, search, display, and video) | Snapchat | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definition of political advertisingHow a platform defines political advertising | Facebook’s includes election ads and broader issue ads in its definition of political advertising. Its broad definition includes ads about "Social issues, elections or politics" which means "any ad that: 1) Is made by, on behalf of or about a current or former candidate for public office, a political figure, a political party, a political action committee or advocates for the outcome of an election to public office; or 2) Is about any election, referendum or ballot initiative, including "get out the vote" or election information campaigns; or 3) Is about any social issue in any place where the ad is being run; or 4) Is regulated as political advertising." 1/6/2020 | Google limits its definition of political advertising more than other platforms. Google’s definition of political advertising is ads that reference candidates, government office holders, political parties, and any issue on a state ballot. Previously, Google’s of political advertising was even more limited, only including "ads that feature a current officeholder or candidate for an elected federal office, such as that of the President or Vice President of the United States, or members of the United States House of Representatives or United States Senate." This definition was extended to include U.S. state-level candidates and officeholders, ballot measures, and ads that mention federal or state political parties on December 3rd, 2019. 1/6/2020 | Reddit’s definition of political advertising includes election and broader issue ads: "Public communications relating to a political issue or made via the Platform by a political committee, by persons advertising the election or defeat of a clearly identifiable candidate or soliciting a political contribution, or by persons making electioneering communications." 11/12/19 | Snapchat includes election and broader issue ads in its definition of political advertising: "Election-related ads include ads about candidates or parties for public office, ballot measures or referendums, political action committees, and ads that urge people to vote or register to vote. Issue or advocacy ads are ads concerning issues or organizations that are the subject of debate on a local, national, or global level, or of public importance. They include ads about abortion, immigration, the environment, education, discrimination, and guns." 11/12/19 | Twitter distinguishes between political content, for which advertising is banned, as well as cause-based content, for which advertising is restricted. Political content is any "content that references a candidate, political party, elected or appointed government official, election, referendum, ballot measure, legislation, regulation, directive, or judicial outcome.” Cause-based ads are broader issue ads, defined as “ads that educate, raise awareness, and/or call for people to take action in connection with civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship, or social equity causes” - in essence, ads about political issues that do not directly reference elections or call for specific political outcomes. 11/30/19 |
| Reactions to state lawsAs states have passed legislation regarding state and local political advertising online, some platforms have stopped allowing political ads to run in those states. | Facebook prohibits political ads from running in Washington state when "the ads relate to Washington's state or local elected officials, candidates, elections or ballot initiatives." No other states are restricted, although it is expected that advertisers follow all applicable state laws. 1/6/2020 | Google does not allow political ads about state or local candidates or ballot measures in Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, or Washington. Such ads can run in California and New York but require additional forms to be filled out by the advertisers. 1/6/2020 | Reddit "does not accept ads related to ballot measures or candidates for US state or local elections." 11/30/19 | Snapchat does not ban political advertisements in any state according to its political ads policies. 11/30/19 | No state or local election or ballot-measure ads are allowed because these would fall under political content. 11/30/19 |
| Relevant advertising policiesEach platform has extensive policies for promoted content. The information documented here are the sections of these policies that are most relevant to political advertising, such as if the company prohibits misinformation or voter suppression. | Facebook's ad policies prohibit content that implies "personal attributes" and bans "discriminatory practices," "misinformation,"* "content that exploits controversial political or social issues for commercial purposes," and "misleading claims." Broadly, this means advertisers cannot exclude audiences based on demographic characteristics for discriminatory purposes, cannot call out personal attributes in ads such as saying "white people like you," and cannot make sales pitches based on political issues. For lead ads (ads which ask for users to fill out forms with their contact information to be added to a contact list), advertisers cannot request information on political affiliation. Facebook includes a generic statement that advertisers must follow all laws. This includes election interference by foreign entities. *The restriction on misinformation only applies to information that has been fact-checked, which does not include politicians or those seeking public office--see "Exceptions for political figures." 1/30/2020 | Google's ad policies prohibit inappropriate content, which includes "Dangerous or derogatory content"--a general definition of hate speech, harassment, and bullying. In the "Misrepresentation" section, the definition of "Misleading content" includes "information about public voting procedures that contradicts official government sources" as well as "Misleading use or mimicry of official government sites, stamps, seals, or agency names." Google has recently clarified the misinformation section saying that this will only apply to misinformation that “could significantly undermine participation or trust in an electoral or democratic process,” not misinformation about candidates or their policies. Google does not allow any advertiser to target ads based on personal hardships, identity or beliefs, or sexual interests per its personalized advertising policy. This policy also means that political advertisers (like others) are not allowed to target ads based on race, sexuality, or religion. Google includes a generic statement that advertisers must follow all laws. This includes election interference by foreign entities 1/30/2020 | Between June and December of 2019, Reddit updated its ad policies to prohibit "ads related to ballot measures or candidates for US state or local elections." This means that while Reddit accepts issue ads about any national or local issue, it now only accepts election ads for national US elections. No political ads are allowed outside of the US. Reddit also prohibits "content that depicts intolerant or overly contentious political or cultural topics or views" in any advertising, not just political. Its definition of "misleading advertising" includes a statement that advertisers cannot "employ techniques that are deceptive, untrue, or misleading." Reddit also prohibits "Ads whose targeting is likely to provoke or cause outrage." Political advertising on Reddit requires human review, and Reddit reserves the right to reject ads as it sees fit, regardless of policies. Reddit includes a generic statement that advertisers must follow all laws. This includes election interference by foreign entities 1/30/2020 | Snapchat does not allow "Hateful or Discriminatory Content" which includes a hate speech, harassment and bullying. Snapchat bans "Deceptive Content" including a broad definition of anything that is "false or misleading." While the examples given are about commercial practices, this policy and its expansive definition are applicable to political advertisements. Snapchat has told news organizations that it fact checks all political ads. Snapchat's ad policies include a generic statement that advertisers must follow all laws; Snapchat explicitly includes election interference by foreign entities. 1/30/2020 | "Twitter globally prohibits the promotion of political content. We have made this decision based on our belief that political message reach should be earned, not bought." However, "cause-based" advertising is allowed and is defined as "ads that educate, raise awareness, and/or call for people to take action in connection with civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship, or social equity causes." Cause-based ads, including those run by for-profit companies, "must be tied to the organization’s publicly stated values, principles, and/or beliefs." These ads, however, face significant targeting restrictions. In addition, news media organizations "controlled" by state actors cannot buy ads. Other relevant ad policies include a prohibition of hateful content and inappropriate content, which includes personal attacks, sensitive topics, and misrepresentative content. 11/22/19 |
| Relevant community guidelinesAdvertisers must adhere to social media platforms' community guidelines in addition to their advertising policies. The information documented here are sections of these guidelines that are most relevant to political advertising. | Facebook ads must comply with Facebook’s Community Standards. The primary relevant Facebook community standard regarding institutional politics is under "Coordinating Harm" which prohibits election interference, threatening election integrity, and voter suppression. However, the other relevant categories are "Fraud and Deception," "Bullying and Harassment," "Hate Speech," and "Cruel and Insensitive" content. The last of these includes a sub-section that says that Facebook will "remove explicit attempts to mock victims." Facebook added a ban on "Manipulated Media" that restricts the use of highly and misleadingly edited videos. Ads on Instagram must also comply with Instagram’s Community Guidelines, but we could not find any standards unique to Instagram that are relevant to political advertising. 1/6/2020 | Ads run on YouTube must follow Youtube’s Community Guidelines. These guidelines are similar to the ads policies but to a lower standard. Categories of the Community Guidelines that are relevant to political advertising are the bans on "hateful content," "harassment or cyberbullying," threats, and voter suppression. Voter suppression is defined as "Content aiming to mislead voters about the time, place, means or eligibility requirements for voting." 1/6/2020 | Reddit is moderated primarily at the subreddit level, meaning that each community on Reddit has its own rules and guidelines. However, advertisers on Reddit do have to follow the platform’s guidelines. The overarching community guidelines of Reddit (found in its content policy) have few restrictions. Relevant to political advertising is a prohibition of threats, harassment, or bullying and the posting of personal information. 11/12/19 | Ads run on Snapchat must also adhere to Snapchats Community Guidelines. These guidelines are similar to its ad policies but to a slightly lower standard. Snapchat prohibits "Harassment & bullying" as well as "Hate Speech & False Information," which only bans false information that causes harm rather than any deceptive content, which is banned in the ad policies. 11/12/19 | Ads run on Twitter must also adhere to the Twitter Rules. Relevant rules include the bans on "hateful conduct" and "abusive behavior.” On the more directly-political front, Twitter specifies that no election interference is allowed on the platform. 11/22/19 |
| Labeling and disclaimer requirementsTooltip content | Political ads are required to include a "paid for by" statement. 1/6/2020 | Political ads are required to include a "paid for by" statement. 1/6/2020 | Political ads are required to include a "paid for by" statement. 11/1/19 | Political ads are required to include a "paid for by" statement. 11/12/19 | Previously, political ads required a "paid for by" statement. It is unclear if cause-based ads are also required to have this statement, though these advertisers must have their identity verified. 11/22/19 |
| Targeting restrictions specific to politicsEach platform has a section of advertising policies specific to politics. Here, we call out when platforms have restrictions on targeting capabilities unique to political advertisers. | Political ads cannot be targeted Messenger or the Facebook Audience Network (FAN). (FAN allows advertisers to purchase ads through Facebook Ads Manager and with Facebook data on websites and apps outside of Facebook and Instagram such as seventeen.com, breitbart.com, or the Words With Friends app.) There are no other restrictions on political advertisers regarding targeting capabilities. 1/6/2020 | Google only allows political ads to be targeted by age, gender, and general location (down to postal code or congressional district) as well as with contextual targeting related to the content that the ad appears next to. All other forms of targeting are now prohibited for political advertising on Google. No political ads are allowed in Gmail. 1/6/2020 | None. 11/12/19 | None. 11/12/19 | Cause-based advertising on Twitter cannot use geo-targeting more specific than "the state, province, or region level" and may not use Twitter's keyword or interest-based targeting that has "terms associated with political content, prohibited advertisers, or political leanings or affiliations (e.g., “conservative,” “liberal,” “political elections,” etc.)." Government agencies can use more specific geographic targeting if they follow all other rules. In addition, cause-based advertising can only run promoted tweets, video ads, and brand reminders. Other paid content such as promoted trends are not allowed. 11/22/19 |
| Content restrictions specific to politicsEach platform has a section of advertising policies specific to politics. Here, we call out when platforms have restrictions on the content advertisers can promote unique to political advertisers. | None. 1/6/2020 | None. 1/6/2020 | None, although Reddit prohibits "content that depicts intolerant or overly contentious political or cultural topics or view" in all advertising, not just political. 1/6/2020 | Snapchat prohibits attacks relating to a person’s personal life in political ads. 11/12/19 | Cause-based advertising cannot have the "primary goal of driving political, judicial, legislative, or regulatory outcomes" since this would make them “political content” which is banned in paid advertisements. 11/22/19 |
| Verification and authorizationRecently, some platforms have begun to verify advertisers’ identities prior to running political ads. If a platform has implemented such a process, it is documented here. | To run political advertisements, advertisers have to confirm their personal identities through government issued ID and a current US address. If an advertiser is running ads on behalf of an organization, it must be verified through government resources such as an EIN number. Smaller advertisers like local candidates and small businesses can be verified through a physical address, phone number, website, and email. Facebook says these verification processes will take 24 hours. 1/6/2020 | To run political advertisements on Google advertisers need to have their identities verified through a government issued ID, social security number, and address. To run ads through an organization, a Federal Election Commission ID or a federal Employer Identification Number is required. Google says the verification process can take up to two business days. 1/6/2020 | Political advertisements on Reddit "are subject to preapproval" although Reddit does not specify what is required. Reddit did not clarify its process when asked for comment. 11/12/19 | Political ads on Snapchat require human review. Like Reddit, the verification and review process are unclear. Snapchat did not clarify its process when asked for comment. 11/12/19 | Individuals running cause-based ads have to verify their name and country with a government issued ID; organizations’ registration requires tax information or other government-issued organizational identification. 11/22/19 |
| Political ads libraryRecently, some platforms have begun to publicly display and archive political ads. If a platform has implemented such a process, it is documented here. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, Twitter has a transparency center in which all active ads can be viewed. Political ads that ran before the ban can be viewed as well. |
| Exceptions for political figuresEven when other policies should apply, platforms sometimes make exceptions or allowances for public figures and politicians. Such instances are noted here. | Facebook's change in its definition of "misinformation" within its ad policy now determines misinformation based on fact-checks. Since “political figures” are ineligible for fact-checking per Facebook’s fact-checking policy, this makes them exempt from having content containing misinformation removed. Political figures includes any elected official or person running for office. However, Facebook does reject ads from political figures that share content from other users that has already been debunked on Facebook. 1/6/2020 | None. 1/6/2020 | None. 1/6/2020 | None. 11/12/19 | None, since all ads by candidates and government officials are now banned. 11/22/19 |
Platforms’ targeting capabilities
The table below offers a comparison of the platforms’ capabilities. Navigate the table by scrolling horizontally. Use the search bar to filter to row.
Open the Targeting Table
| Facebook (including Instagram) | Google Adwords (including YouTube, search, display, and video) | Snapchat | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DemographicsDemographics checked for were age, gender, language, and race and ethnicity. | Age, gender, and language. Age ranges are selected by the user. No race or ethnicity-based targeting. 1/6/2020 | Age, gender, and language. Age is targeted through ranges. No race or ethnicity-based targeting. 1/6/2020 | None. 11/12/19 | Age, gender, and language. Age ranges are selected by the user. No race and ethnicity-based targeting. 11/12/19 | Age and gender. Age in different ranges such as 24-35. No race and ethnicity-based targeting. 11/22/19 |
| Geographic targetingDigital advertising targeting typically includes geographic targeting by nation, state, and often city or zip code. However, not every platform includes congressional districts or radius targeting. | By country, state, city, postal code, and congressional district. Specific addresses or locations can be targeted with as small as a 1 mile radius. 1/30/2020 | By country, state, city, postal code, and congressional district. Google no longer allows geographic radius targeting by political advertisers. 1/30/2020 | By country, state, and demand market area (DMAs are media markets from TV ad buying.) No postal code, congressional district, or radius targeting. 1/30/2020 | By country, state, city, and postal code. Specific addresses or locations can be targeting with as small as a .06 mile radius. No congressional district targeting. 1/30/2020 | By country, state, region, metro area, and postal code. No congressional district targeting or radius targeting. 1/30/2020 |
| Targeting by voting history or political partyNo platforms analyzed included voting history, political party, or political affiliation in their basic user interfaces. | None. 1/6/2020 | None. 1/6/2020 | None. 11/12/19 | None. 11/12/19 | None. 11/22/19 |
| Interest in political figures, organizations, or causesWhile no platform includes voting history or political party to target in the interface, we document how you can target by other political ideology signifiers in each platform. | Available. Advertisers can target people based on data Facebook collects on its users, including audience categories of people who have liked pages about or expressed an interest in political figures, organizations, or causes. 1/6/2020 | Google’s updated political advertising policy limits audience targeting to age, gender, language, and contextual. Contextual targeting includes the ability to list words like “Democratic party,” “Donald Trump,” or “border wall” for display or video ads to appear next to. Search advertisements are placed based on keywords in the users search query. YouTube ads can be targeted by keyword, YouTube channel, or specific video. 1/6/2020 | Advertisers can target members of political subreddits such as r/democrats, r/republican, r/sandersforpresident, and r/politics as well as interests based on interactions with subreddits of similar topics. 11/12/19 | Snapchat’s only ad targeting category from its own collected user data relevant to politics is “political news watchers.” However, Snapchat’s integration with data broker Comscore includes targeting categories FOX News viewers, MSNBC viewers, and PBS viewers. There are no targeting categories about political figures, organizations, or causes. 11/12/19 | Advertisers can target people based on data that Twitter collects on users, including audience categories of people who look like followers of politicians and people who have engaged in specific topics of conversation. Such audience categories are not allowed for cause-based advertising if they relate to political figures, party affiliations, or political issue preferences. 11/22/19 |
| List matchingIt is technologically possible for platforms to match lists of email addresses, names, phone numbers, and other unique identifiers to their users. In this way, advertisers can bring their own data to many platforms to target specific lists of people. | Available, called "custom audiences." 1/6/2020 | No longer allowed for political advertising, but previously available. 1/6/2020 | None. 11/12/19 | Available, "custom audiences." 11/12/19 | No longer allowed for cause-based advertising, but previously available. 1/6/2020 |
| LookalikesTooltip content | Available. 1/6/2020 | No longer allowed for political advertising, but previously available. 1/6/2020 | None. 11/12/19 | Available. 11/12/19 | No longer allowed for cause-based advertising, but previously available. 1/6/2020 |
| Data broker integrationsIn addition to the data about users gathered on the platform, some platforms partner with third party data brokers to provide advertisers with additional types of audiences. | Available. Advertisers on Facebook can choose to work directly with data brokers and other marketing service providers to create custom audiences. 1/6/2020 | Not available in Google Ads, but is available in DV360 for display and out-of-YouTube video. No longer allowed for political advertising. 1/6/2020 | It is unclear if Reddit allows data broker integrations. Reddit did not clarify when asked for comment. 1/6/2020 | Yes, Snapchat includes targeting categories from Comscore, Nielsen, Datalogix, Visa, and Placed in its ads manager. Additional data broker integrations can be accessed through partnerships with LiveRamp, a data onboarding company. 11/12/19 | Available, but not integrated into the Twitter ads interface. Advertisers have to have partnerships with third parties such as Oracle. It is unclear if this is banned for cause-based advertising (Twitter did not respond to a request for comment). 1/6/2020 |