Trump Campaign Floods Web With Ads, Raking In Cash as Democrats Struggle

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/20/us/elections/trump-campaign-ads-democrats.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

By Matthew Rosenberg and Kevin Roose
Oct. 20, 2019, 3:00 a.m. ET

On any given day, the Trump campaign is plastering ads all over Facebook, YouTube and the millions of sites served by Google, hitting the kind of incendiary themes — immigrant invaders, the corrupt media — that play best on platforms where algorithms favor outrage and political campaigns are free to disregard facts.

Even seemingly ominous developments for Mr. Trump become fodder for his campaign. When news broke last month that congressional Democrats were opening an impeachment inquiry, the campaign responded with an advertising blitz aimed at firing up the president’s base.

The campaign slapped together an “Impeachment Poll” (sample question: “Do you agree that President Trump has done nothing wrong?”). It invited supporters to join the Official Impeachment Defense Task Force (“All you need to do is DONATE NOW!”). It produced a slick video laying out the debunked conspiracy theory about former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Ukraine that is now at the center of the impeachment battle (“Learn the truth. Watch Now!”).

The onslaught overwhelmed the limited Democratic response. Mr. Biden’s campaign put up the stiffest resistance: It demanded Facebook take down the ad, only to be rebuffed. It then proceeded with plans to slash its online advertising budget in favor of more television ads.

That campaigns are now being fought largely online is hardly a revelation, yet only one political party seems to have gotten the message. While the Trump campaign has put its digital operation firmly at the center of the president’s re-election effort, Democrats are struggling to internalize the lessons of the 2016 race and adapt to a political landscape shaped by social media.

</snip>

[flibbitygiblets]

1. Scary. Also scary how many Gabbard ads I'm seeing.

I don't support her. I haven't been to pages discussing her. Her ads, large and reasonable-sounding, keep popping up at the top of my screen.

[Joe941]

3. Same I am inundated by tulsi online ads.

[JHB]

2. A different take on that story...

Link to tweet

Bruce Bartlett
@BruceBartlett
This looks like a story planted by Facebook to get Democrats to spend money on Facebook.

[dalton99a]

9. +1. Maggie Haberman is amplifying the message

[Anon-C]

11. No one should be surprised.

[beachbumbob]

4. I laugh at all of it

[Newest Reality]

5. We can expect...

We can expect an extreme amount of emotion evoking content for this election cycle.

People can become raw and vulnerable from a barrage of information that can be intended to produce a result based on reactions. That is a factor to consider.

Use it as a barometer for how much you are being moved in that way and remember that you can balance your emotional states by staying informed and using reason. Stability and confidence will go a long way and empower us in the battle ahead. We don't want to allow emotions to cloud or weaken us at all. That's a ploy used by some media and propagandists.

Say no to manipulation because it is rampant. We win by knowing more and keeping strong. We will do our best. Shields up!

[scarytomcat]

6. anybody still using facebook here

should just go away
we should not support facebook in any way
or twitter

[Falcata]

10. I'd say you do you

and let me do me. If I use social media it's for family and friends only. Any one who thinks it's for politics is misusing it.

[Wounded Bear]

12. I do the same, except I dabble in some political content...

but I routinely block any Trump-bots, and I don't chase clickbait that might lead to more spam.

[flibbitygiblets]

16. Never done twitter, quit FB over the 2016 russian ad debacle

rarely if ever miss them, although it is annoying now many twitter links we get here on DU

[mercuryblues]

7. democrats are in the primary phase of the election

Where trumpublikkklans, having no serious opposition in the primary have started their general election strategies. IMO that makes a big difference. Only the one that is paying with rubles is spending a lot online. The good news is they are polling between 0-3%

[ecstatic]

14. I've only seen Steyer's ads on TV, alongside trump PAC ads.

We definitely need ads to counter the PACs.

[dalton99a]

8. Kick

[Sinistrous]

15. Who's that with MF45?

[ecstatic]

13. The thought of paying Facebook for anything pisses me off, but

don't we need to be on the battlefield, putting out our own ads as well?

If I were more organized, I'd be doing that right now. However, I donated to Indivisible the other day specifically because they said they needed funding to put out ads.