Political Advertising on Facebook During the 2022 Australian Federal Election: A Social Identity Perspective

TL;DR

This study analyzes political advertising on Facebook and Instagram during the 2022 Australian federal election, revealing disparities in spending, targeting strategies, and thematic messaging, interpreted through Social Identity Theory.

Contribution

It provides an empirical analysis of digital political advertising patterns during an election, applying Social Identity Theory to interpret strategic differences among parties.

Findings

Significant disparities in ad spending and reach among parties.

Distinct demographic targeting strategies, including focus on youth and gender differences.

Parties emphasized different themes aligned with their ideologies.

Abstract

The spread of targeted advertising on social media platforms has revolutionized political marketing strategies. Monitoring these digital campaigns is essential for maintaining transparency and accountability in democratic processes. Leveraging Meta's Ad Library, we analyze political advertising on Facebook and Instagram during the 2022 Australian federal election campaign. We investigate temporal, demographic, and geographical patterns in the advertising strategies of major Australian political actors to establish an empirical evidence base, and interpret these findings through the lens of Social Identity Theory (SIT). Our findings not only reveal significant disparities in spending and reach among parties, but also in persuasion strategies being deployed in targeted online campaigns. We observe a marked increase in advertising activity as the election approached, peaking just before the mandated media blackout period. Demographic analysis shows distinct targeting strategies, with parties focusing more on younger demographics and exhibiting gender-based differences in ad impressions. Regional distribution of ads largely mirrored population densities, with some parties employing more targeted approaches in specific states. Moreover, we found that parties emphasized different themes aligned with their ideologies-major parties focused on party names and opponents, while smaller parties emphasized issue-specific messages. Drawing on SIT, we interpret these findings within Australia's compulsory voting context, suggesting that parties employed distinct persuasion strategies. With turnout guaranteed, major parties focused on reinforcing partisan identities to prevent voter defection, while smaller parties cultivated issue-based identities to capture the support of disaffected voters who are obligated to participate.