The Big Spend: Why Harris Campaign is Going All Out on Facebook Ads

Ever wondered why a presidential campaign would spend millions on a Facebook page with barely any followers? Kamala Harris's presidential campaign has shelled out over $11 million to promote a Facebook page called “The Daily Scroll.” This page isn’t some secret news outlet; it’s a way for the campaign to reach voters through social media ads on Facebook and Instagram. The ads spread stories from big news outlets like CNN, ABC, and NBC. These stories highlight positive points for Harris, like falling inflation rates and negative aspects of rival Trump’s policies, such as state abortion bans. The goal? To sway undecided voters, mainly in seven battleground states. The Harris campaign isn’t just stopping at “The Daily Scroll.” They’ve also been promoting another page, “Headlines 2024,” spending another $900,000 on ads from this page. These ads have popped up in voters’ feeds at least 700 million times, with most views coming from key states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

The campaign's strategy includes sharing news stories that put Harris in a good light and Trump in a bad one. For example, they've spent over $2 million to promote an ABC News article on cooling inflation. Another $300,000 went into ads sharing an NBC News story about Trump’s comments on crowd sizes. The ads are all upfront about who's behind them, with disclaimers like “paid for by Harris for President.” But here's a head-scratcher: these pages don’t post much, with “The Daily Scroll” having about 1,000 followers and “Headlines 2024” even fewer at around 100. Facebook allows this; the ads don’t need to be on the main feed of the pages they’re linked to. It shows the Harris campaign sees value in targeting specific groups through ads, even with seemingly quiet pages. “It’s not deceptive as everything is labeled correctly,” said Peter Loge, a media expert from George Washington University. This strategy is part of a broader effort to reach undecided voters, using different online platforms and methods.

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