It’s conquered yards, it’s colonized mailboxes, it’s taken over the radio and the television. It’s not an alien species or a foreign creature but instead, campaign ads. Each election year, record amounts of money are spent on advertising, especially in Wisconsin, one of the seven swing states. But this year, a new and highly effective strategy emerged: the use of social media. It’s here on short-form content sites such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram where campaigns can advertise to one of the most influential groups in the election: the youth.
“I watch YouTube. I see a lot of YouTube ads that are trying to dismiss the other candidate and specific policies,” senior Gabe Hill said.
To increase the output of these ads, campaigns ramped up their spending this election cycle. According to Emarketer.com, money spent on digital media campaign ads has spiked 156% from 2020, now reaching $3.46 billion.
“I do not remember seeing as many advertisements last time as I have this time. The amount of flyers is insane, and I think the hot topic issues like abortion or immigration are talked about more than I’ve ever seen before,” English teacher Emily Humy said.
Regardless of the increase in spending, the money isn’t spent equally. There is a significant disparity in specifically social media spending between the parties. According to Brennancenter.org, when looking at the presidential campaign, $182.14 million have been spent on Kamala Harris’s campaign, compared to only a third of that for Donald Trump, at $45.34 million. This makes sense, as democratic candidates have historically fared better with the younger crowd.
“I feel like I’ve seen a lot of ads for Kamala Harris,” Hill said.
However, these campaigns are not just advertising through paid advertisements; social Media accounts for both parties have popped up on many sites, namely TikTok, where “Kamala HQ” has 4.8 million followers and “Team Trump” has 2.9 million followers. According to TikTok’s policy, they do not allow paid political ads, but this workaround may have been more successful than standard ads.
“I see a lot of ‘I will fix this issue for you because I know the younger upcoming class is facing these issues.’ I see that a lot more now in short-form content,” Hill said.
Although effective, this type of advertising can be shady. The videos take short clips of other candidates or use popular meme formats. Many times, these can be taken out of context or stretch the truth. This bashing of others doesn’t help in the democratic process and can leave voters with less confidence in all candidates.
“I have a personal opinion about civil opinion and how it’s lost in today’s debates, but a lot of the political videos seem targeted not on how they are good but how bad the other candidate is,” Hill said.
With an influx in these advertisements, it is crucial that voters cut through what is being advertised to them, and instead find the full story.
“It is important to find credible sources and not just to believe what Instagram and TikTok tell you. You really need to watch the debates for yourself; watch these people’s speeches for yourself,” Humy said.