X, the social network owned by Elon Musk, has become a leading platform for Republican campaigns in the United States. The party invests heavily in advertising there, apparently spending twice as much as the Democrats. Although Musk supports former US President Donald Trump, experts believe this will not have an impact on undecided voters. But this strategy represents an effective lever to directly boost party members’ campaigns.
An article by Stephen Pastis for Forbes US – translated by Lisa Deleforterie
Highlights
- According to a data analysis conducted by AdImpact and Washington Postbetween 6 and 1 Marcheh As of October, accounts supporting Republicans ran more than twice as many political ads on X as those supporting Democrats.
- In July, the Pew Research Center observed that X had shifted more toward a Republican audience since Musk took the reins of the social network. Although CEO Linda Yaccarino has denied an increase in the number of Republicans on the platform, this increase in Republican ad spending seems logical today, whereas it would not have made sense a few years ago, said Deen Freelon, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and specialist in digital policy, at Forbes.
- This means that Republicans’ influence on X is likely to have little impact outside of their voting base. On the other hand, the platform makes it easier for them to broadcast advertisements and raise funds from conservatives, explained to Forbes Daniel Kreiss, professor of political communication at the University of North Carolina.
- The advantage for Republicans is their ability, through X ads, to reach a receptive audience that is likely to donate, consider voting Republican and spread those messages within their networks, said Erika Franklin, Wesleyan University professor and co-director of Wesleyan Media project, Forbes.
- Another reason the ads will have little impact on voters is that monthly assets as well as revenue have declined since the acquisition by Elon Musk in October 2022, and the platform is now inaccessible to non-registered users, explained Mr. Freelon.
Which advertising channels do the Democrats prefer?
Since early August, Democrats have spent several million dollars more than Republicans on digital ads, according to data from the AdImpact platform, reported by Washington Post. They have focused their advertising investments on technology platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Separately, Vice President Kamala Harris has not bought any ads on X, Nu Wexler, a political strategist, said Washington Post that the Democrats did not see this platform as suitable for their audience.
Key context
Donald Trump, chief political ad buyer at Washington Posthas strengthened its alliance with Elon Musk in recent months. The Tesla founder publicly expressed his support for Trump in July, following an attempted attack on a rally in Pennsylvania. Since then, Musk has reiterated his support for the Republican candidate and claimed to pay tens of millions of dollars a month to a pro-Trump super PAC. Musk’s political imprint on In August, Musk hosted Trump on the platform for a discussion on various political topics. On that occasion, Trump announced plans to create a “Government Efficiency Commission” aimed at conducting a comprehensive audit of the federal government, and indicated that Musk could lead the program. The billionaire bolstered his support by first attending a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July.
Key
On Monday, Musk said his America PAC, the pro-Trump group he primarily funds, will donate $47 for every time someone refers a registered voter in a swing state to sign a petition to ” support freedom of speech and the right to bear arms ”, as part of his latest move to support Trump. The goal of the petition is to collect one million signatures.
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