Facebook has launched a searchable index of all the ads running on their platform called the Ad Library, which can be a valuable tool for researchers seeking to understand the digital advertising strategies employed by companies, political campaigns and organizations. The new tool was developed to increase transparency on the platform following the controversy surrounding political Facebook ads during the 2016 election.
The Ad Library includes a comprehensive, searchable collection of all ads currently running across all Facebook Products, including Instagram and Messenger, and is accessible with or without a Facebook or Instagram account. Furthermore, the Ad Library includes a historical index (going back to May 2018) of both inactive and active ads related to politics, elections and social issues.
In conjunction with the Ad Library, Facebook has added a “Page Transparency” section which typically appears on the right-hand side of a Facebook profile page. The Page Transparency section includes details about the organization that manages the page, its history (including the page’s creation date, previous names and prior mergers with past pages), and the primary country of the people who manage it. The Page Transparency section also includes a link back to the Ad Library, which houses data about Facebook ad spending by that particular company, organization or elected official.
For ads about social issues, elections or politics, the Ad Library includes details about the ad spending undertaken by the specific organization or elected official hosting the page, including the total amount spent on social and political ads since May 2018 (when the Library was established) and the amount spent on Facebook ads over the prior week. For instances where the page owner and ad funder differ, the Ad Library includes disclaimers showing who paid for ads on the page, which can be helpful in determining who is responsible for ads that don’t advertise a specific company, elected official or cause. For example, the Facebook page “Veteran Loans Online” is owned by LMB OpCo, LLC, according to the Page Transparency section, while the page has run ads paid for by both LMB OpCo, LLC and Core Digital Media according to the Ad Library. Both companies are connected to the website LowerMyBills.com.
The Ad Library contains demographic and geographic targeting information for specific individual ads related to social issues, elections or politics, which can help researchers gain insight into the targeting strategies of their research subjects, as well as to understand the breadth and depth of their subjects’ digital advertising campaigns. The Ad Library will provide users with a range of impressions generated by an ad, a range of money spent, demographic information about who was shown the ad, and geographic information on where the ad was shown. The demographic breakdown includes the age and gender of the Facebook users who were shown the ad, while the geographic breakdown displays which states the ad was shown in.
Facebook’s Ad Library and Page Transparency functions have brought some much-needed transparency to political spending on Facebook controlled platforms. Pro tip: Continue to monitor Facebook’s ad policies, as more functionality will likely be added to the Ad Library as the 2020 election draws nearer.