Meta's Powerful Profit from Political Unrest and Violence
In the hot wake of Donald Trump's shootout, merchandise flooded Facebook. This merchandise, featuring Trump in a fist-clenched stance, with a probable bullet wound, was everywhere - from coffee mugs to Hawaiian shirts, trading cards, commemorative coins, love trinkets, and even ads.
Images captured by Doug Mills and Evan Vucci at the scene - showing a juiced-up Trump shouting "fight" post-shooting – were use extensively in the advertisements, with the Trump campaign even releasing some merchandise in celebration of his survival.
As the Secret Service and law enforcement scrambled to uncover the shooter's motive, online advertisers saw a golden opportunity in the chaos. They quickly started bombarding supporters with Facebook ads showcasing the shooting merchandise, generating over $600,000 to $800,000 in political ad spending in the 10 weeks following the shooting, according to The Markup's analysis.
Facebook itself has previously admitted that contentious posts and misinformation on its platform have more than once ignited real-life violent conflicts. In a study by CalMatters and The Markup, it was found that such real-world violence can also sometimes open up new revenue streams for Meta.
While profits from assassination-related ads represent a minor fraction of Meta's ad revenue, the company builds a significant portion of its cash flow from economic downturns, such as wars and mass shootings, both in the United States and abroad. After the October 7th attack on Israel in 2021 and the subsequent Gaza conflict, Meta saw a substantial hike in ad spending related to the situation, according to our review.
Technology advocacy groups have questioned whether it's ethical for Facebook to make a profit off violence and whether the company violates its own policies by enabling it. Meta contends that advertisers often react to recent events, and the ads displayed on its platform are scrutinized and must meet its standards.
CalMatters and The Markup utilized Meta's own tools to calculate how much Meta makes from advertising spikes during instances of political violence. By examining over a thousand political ads that mentioned Israel, they found that organizations and individuals spent between $14.8 and $22.1 million on ads seen between 1.5 billion and 1.7 billion times on Meta's platforms. In the same period the previous year, Metro made between $2.4 and $4 million for ads viewed between 373 million and 445 million times, representing a 450% increase in Israel-related ad revenue for the company (using current U.S. dollars for foreign currency purchases).
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group advocating for Israel, was one of the primary spenders on Israel-related ads. After the attack, their spending increased by over 300% compared to the previous six months, resulting in between $1.8 and $2.7 million in spending, with the group bombarding Facebook and Instagram with ads supporting Israel's actions in Gaza and calling for politicians to support the country.
Other ad campaigns mentioned Israel, but they backed varying sides of the conflict. Charities like Doctors Without Borders highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, while other ads defended and promoted Israel. The Christian Broadcasting Network, for example, claimed that Iran aimed to establish a worldwide Islamic government through the armed conflict.
Facebook, Meta's parent company, depends predominantly on targeted advertising for the majority of its revenue. The company tracks users online to profile their activities and, when a business or organization wishes to reach them, Meta allows these entities to pay to send ads to potentially interested parties. Although most ads are innocent in nature – promoting gardening, for instance – Meta's algorithms overlook the distinction between wholesome hobbies and something more nefarious.
Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton declared in an emailed statement that Meta did not directly profit from political violence, as advertisers frequently distance themselves from promoting their ads alongside coverage of violent events due to fear of association.
Clayton noted that Meta's CFO recently said on an earnings call that it's challenging to attribute low ad spending directly to any specific geopolitical event, including the Middle East conflict, but observed a decrease in ad spending "correlating with the start" of the conflicts in the Middle East as well as Ukraine.
"Advertisers responding to recent events is nothing uncommon, and it's seen across the media landscape, including television, radio, and online news outlets," Clayton said. "All ads that run on our platform must go through a review process, and Meta offers an extra layer of transparency by making them publicly available in our Ad Library."
CalMatters and The Markup used Meta's own tools to evaluate how much Meta makes from advertising spikes when instances of political violence occur, reviewing thousands of ads through a combination of manual analysis and AI assistance provided by Meta itself. To explore assassination-related merchandise, they browsed Meta's Ad Library for ads that mentioned "assassination," including those that also mentioned "Trump" and hundreds more that didn't explicitly name the former president but were clearly related to the shooting.
"First they lock him up, now they're trying to end him," one ad read. Conspiratorial ads promoting commemorative two-dollar bills claimed that "the assassination attempt was their Plan B," with "Plan A being to make Biden abandon the presidential campaign." Some ads even used clips from the film JFK to hint at a hidden, malevolent force behind the shooting.
Gun enthusiasts paid for ads, leveraging the shooting for a grim call to action. One ad advertising a firearms safety course emphasized that "November is fast approaching." A clothing business said that, since "the government can't save you" from foreign enemies, Americans "need to be independent, self-made, and self-sufficient."
"Because when those bullets whiz by, you're clearly on your own," the ad continued.
Most of these ads were doubtful of violating Meta's rules, although some may have broken its ban on displaying weapons while alleging "election-related corruption." However, even those ads that didn't explicitly violate Meta's guidelines left the company in an uncomfortable position, as the company accumulated advertising dollars from posts tied to grim news cycles.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself commented on the first Trump assassination attempt, remarking it as "one of the most badass things I've ever seen in my life.” Trump has since survived another apparent assassination attempt, and Zuckerberg's company has raked in millions of dollars through political advertising tied to these and other violent acts.
Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, said "it's obvious" that ads around political violence would surface after incidents "if Meta is not putting in the effort even on a good day to effectively enforce their policies."
"There's substantial problems with their advertising broadly," she continued. "They're profiting off of a lot of harmful things, really without any sort of repercussions."
- In the aftermath of the shooting incident, online advertisers took advantage of the chaotic situation, using it to promote ads for Trump-themed merchandise, generating revenue between $600,000 to $800,000 in political ad spending.
- Facebook's own analysis revealed that a significant portion of the company's cash flow comes from economic downturns, including wars and mass shootings, with accounts showing an increase in ad spending related to the October 7th attack on Israel in 2021 and subsequent Gaza conflict.
- Tech advocacy groups have questioned the ethics of Meta making profits from violence, arguing that the company might be violating its own policies by enabling such content. The issue of using ads to capitalize on political violence has been raised, as these ads are scrutinized and must meet Meta's standards.
- Browsing Meta's Ad Library, CalMatters and The Markup found conspiracy-laden ads exploiting Trump's first assassination attempt, invoking the JFK film, promoting gun safety courses, and inspiring self-reliance. Despite some ads potentially breaking Meta's rules regarding weapons and election-related corruption, the company has accrued advertising dollars from posts linked to grim news cycles.