Topline
Elon Musk’s X has become a major outlet for Republican campaigning as the party targets the site with ads, reportedly spending double that of Democrats on the platform amid Musk’s endorsement of former president Donald Trump, which experts say won’t swing undecided voters but is a strong way to boost campaigns from party members directly.
TOPSHOT – An aerial view shows a newly constructed X sign on the roof of the headquarters of the … [+]
Key Facts
Republican-supporting accounts outspent Democrat-supporting accounts on political ads on X by more than two times from Mar. 6 to Oct. 1, according to data analysis from AdImpact and The Washington Post.
In July, the Pew Research Center found that X has become a more Republican-leaning platform since Musk took over the platform, and while CEO Linda Yaccarino has refuted that there are more Republicans on the app, this heightened ad spend makes sense for Republicans in a way it wouldn’t have a few years ago, Deen Freelon, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a digital politics expert, told Forbes.
That means Republican ties to X likely won’t impact voters beyond the GOP base, but it’s easier for co-partisans to appeal to conservatives through ads and fundraising, Daniel Kreiss, a professor at the University of North Carolina and a political communications expert, told Forbes.
The voting boost for Republicans is that they believe they can reach friendly audiences through X who may be likely to donate, to be persuaded to vote Republican and to re-share these appeals to those in their network, Erika Franklin Fowler, a professor at Wesleyan University and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, told Forbes.
Another reason the ads won’t impact voters broadly is because X may not be as politically consequential as Twitter once was: Trump uses Truth Social for his more opinionated posts, overall monthly active users and revenue have declined since Musk bought the platform in October 2022, and the platform isn’t available to those who don’t sign up for it, Freelon said.
Where Are Democrats Buying Ads?
Democrats have outspent Republicans on digital ads by millions, and they have been outspending since early August, according to data analytics platform AdImpact, as reported by the Post. Democrats have focused spending on tech platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, according to the Post. Vice President Kamala Harris has not bought an ad on X, and Nu Wexler, a political strategist, told the Washington Post that Democrats don’t view it as their audience.
Key Background
Donald Trump — the biggest buyer of political ads on X, according to the Washington Post — has fueled an alliance with Musk in recent months. The billionaire Tesla founder publicly endorsed Trump in July after an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. Musk has posted in support of the Republican candidate several times since and said he is committing tens of millions monthly to a pro-Trump super PAC. As Musk imprints his politics on the site, the uptick in Republican ad spending also represents a big shift in the platform from 2019 when it banned political ads and sought to retain nonpartisan governance, Kreiss said. In August, Musk hosted Trump on the platform to discuss political topics. Trump has said he plans to “create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government,” mentioning that Musk has agreed to potentially lead the program. Musk sealed his July endorsement on Saturday by attending a rally in Pennsylvania — his first time at a campaign event.
Tangent
On Monday, Musk said his America PAC, the pro-Trump group he primarily funds, will pay $47 for each time someone refers a registered swing state voter to sign a petition to “support for free speech and the right to bear arms” in his latest attempt to boost support for Trump. The petition has a goal of 1 million signatures.
