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New Analysis of 2022 Midterm Advertising Published

(MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 27, 2023 - New research utilizing Wesleyan Media Project data yields new insights on the polarization of 2022 midterm messaging between the parties in discussions of race as compared to discussions of gender. The new analysis, described by the Collaborative on Media and Messaging (COMM) for Health and Social Policy, builds on prior research published by WMP’s co-directors in early 2023 highlighting the pro-Democratic focus on abortion as a key issue. What was not previously known was the extent to which the race-related conversation in 2022 was contested between the parties and led more often by Republicans.…
Wesleyan Media Project
February 27, 2024
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2022 ElectionsBlogReleasesYear-End Summaries

New Studies Published on Television and Digital Advertising in the 2022 Midterms

(MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 22, 2023 – New research published by the Wesleyan Media Project provides two summaries of political advertising activity in the 2022 midterms. The two pieces appear in the latest issue of The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics and are both freely available through open access. The first examines advertising trends on television across all sponsors (open access link) while the second hones in on digital activity on Meta (including Facebook and Instagram) and Google (including YouTube, display and search) by federal candidates (open access link).   Key takeaways from the publications are as…
Wesleyan Media Project
February 22, 2023
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WMP Joins Proposal for Universal Digital Ad Transparency Standard

Photo: anyaberkut/iStock(MIDDLETOWN, CT) December 9, 2021 – Given the rapid recent growth in spending on political advertising online (at least 25 percent of 2020 presidential spending) and the challenges that the current ad libraries pose for research and for accountability in elections, the Wesleyan Media Project (WMP) proposes a new universal transparency standard for platforms that sell digital ads and meet certain eligibility thresholds.A new WMP paper, jointly authored with researchers at NYU and Mozilla and released today, outlines a universal transparency standard that would require these platforms to report advertising by sponsor to a centralized repository maintained by a…
Wesleyan Media Project
December 9, 2021
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Updated Book on Political Advertising Released

The second edition of Political Advertising in the United States, written by the Wesleyan Media Project’s co-directors, has been released. The book, by Erika Franklin Fowler, Michael M. Franz and Travis N. Ridout, examines the volume, distribution, content, and effects of political advertising in congressional and presidential elections. The book considers the role of television ads using extensive data on ad airings on local broadcast stations. It also analyzes newly available data on paid digital ads, including ads on Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube. The book covers the role of outside groups in airing ads, including the rise of dark…
Wesleyan Media Project
November 19, 2021