We will share with you an overview of what could qualify as a political ad on popular social media platforms and avoid having your posts blocked.
It is important to note that the rules are constantly changing. What we say today may be different tomorrow.
What is political advertising?
Political advertisements are a type of paid mass communication produced to support or oppose a candidate, campaign or policy. These multimedia ads combine focused messaging with video, photos and graphics to target voters across platforms.
Most political advertising must include a message about who paid for the ad, known as sponsor identification or a disclaimer.
Ads or social media content about social issues or controversial topics that don’t directly relate to a candidate or election campaign can also be flagged as political ads. For example, an ad with potentially political wording, such as identifying someone as a “council member” or encouraging community members to contact their elected officials, may be subject to political advertising rules.
Examples of ads that require authorization and disclaimer notice
Civil and Social Rights
- Ads that include discussion, debate or advocacy for or against a topic that falls under this issue is subject to authorization and enforcement.
- Example: “It’s time for us to stand up and demand equal rights for women.”
- Not an example: “Coming soon: A documentary on the historic civil rights movement’s evolution throughout the 1960s.”
Health
- Ads that include discussion, debate or advocacy for or against a health-related topic like health care reform or access to health care, are subject to authorization and enforcement.
- Example: “We fight for everyone in our community to have access to the quality health care that all families deserve.”
- Not an example: “Ultrasounds can help people learn more about the health of a pregnancy. Visit our clinic today for a variety of pediatric and expectant mother services.”
More examples can be found here and include the following topics:
- Crime
- Economy
- Education
- Environmental Politics
- Guns
- Immigration
- Political Values and Governance
- Security and Foreign Policy
Current social media policies
The social media landscape continues to be in flux, which makes it challenging to plan future campaigns or make quick decisions. Here’s where the main advertising platforms stand now:
- X (Twitter) Since announcing the lifting of the previous ban in January 2023, political advertising is back on the platform for certified users.
- Facebook (AKA Meta, also the owner of Instagram) allows political ads from verified accounts but has significantly decreased the percentage shown on feeds in the past year based on user trends.
- YouTube also allows political advertisements, but parent company Google requires a verification process described here.
- Reddit announced in 2020 that all political ads would be shared on a subreddit, including paid ads. Reddit also requires ads to allow comments for a minimum of 24 hours but allows the ad’s administrator to moderate them. Additionally, only political ads at the federal level are allowed.
- Pinterest banned all political advertising back in 2018.
- LinkedIn prohibits all political advertising.
What to do if your ads get flagged
If your intended post does get flagged, there are a couple things you can do. If you think you know why your post was flagged, you can edit the post to change the language and resubmit.
Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X, YouTube and Reddit all require users to go through an appeals process if you believe your post follows proper guidelines and is not a political ad. However, if that doesn’t work, you can go through the process of becoming a certified user. From there you can post political ads, that follow the guidelines, that will be required to show the “paid for by” disclaimer.
You need to be careful with the flagging process because the more your account gets flagged it may adversely impact future posts. For example, the more your account is flagged the less spend Meta will allow you on future ads. Should this happen to you, your account will need to continually post ads that are not flagged over a period of time in order to reinstate a higher spend limit.
Links for more information on what constitutes a political ad
We hope this information helped you better understand what you need to keep in mind as we head into the 2024 election season. Keep a look out for part two where we will talk about tips and tricks for navigating a tight broadcast market during election season.