Wesleyan Media Project
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wesmediaproject.bsky.social
Wesleyan Media Project
@wesmediaproject.bsky.social
The Wesleyan Media Project tracks and analyzes political advertising by federal and gov candidates online and on TV in every media market in the country. Directed by @efranklinfowler.bsky.social, @mikefranz.bsky.social, and @tnridout.bsky.social.
Anna Massoglia has a new analysis with @brennancenter.org exploring dark money spending in the 2024 elections (www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...). Anna looked at many sources of data, including our analysis on dark money sponsors of TV ads in 2023-24. mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/dark-money-o...
Dark Money on TV in the 2024 Elections - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
June 25, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Congrats to our co-director, Michael Franz, who has been named the DeAlva Stanwood Alexander Professor of Government at his home institution, Bowdoin College!

www.bowdoin.edu/news/2025/05...

@mikefranz.bsky.social
Five Professors Appointed to Named Chairs
www.bowdoin.edu
June 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Wesleyan Media Project
TV advertising in 2024 presidential race was close to dead even. Our quick take on political advertising in this year's campaign. With @efranklinfowler.bsky.social and @mikefranz.bsky.social
Advertising trends in the 2024 presidential race - Election Analysis - United States
Prof. Travis N. Ridout Professor in the School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at Washington State University. He does research on political communication, political campaigns and advertisi...
www.electionanalysis.ws
November 15, 2024 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Wesleyan Media Project
📈📊 A stunning amount of ads and a stunningly even distribution of presidential advertising between the parties on television. Harris still leads on digital. Read more 2024 analysis in our final pre-election report this cycle ⬇️⬇️
October 31, 2024 at 6:57 PM
📢New WMP report: In the past week, only a very small percentage of pro-Harris ads were positive, with most of them falling into the contrast category. The Trump campaign split its ads between contrast ads and attack ads.

Read full report: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-103...

#2024election
October 31, 2024 at 6:52 PM
💥NEW WMP report: More than $4.5 billion in ad spending this cycle, when digital ad spending is added to the mix, total spending tops $5 billion.
Read more: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-103...

@mmfranz.bsky.social @tnridout.bsky.social @efranklinfowler.bsky.social
@opensecretsdc.bsky.social
More Than $4.5 Billion in Ad Spending This Cycle - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
October 31, 2024 at 6:50 PM
💥 NEW report from WMP: Nearly $300 Million in Presidential Ad Spending Across Platforms Over Past Two Weeks.

Read the full report: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-102...

@efranklinfowler.bsky.social , @tnridout.bsky.social, and @mmfranz.bsky.social.

#2024election #politicalads
Harris TV Ads Plummet Before Rebounding - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
October 24, 2024 at 6:42 PM
💥 New tools for visualizing presidential advertising by geography! One that shows the breakdown of presidential ads by issue mentions on TV & one that shows FB & IG spending over time. ⬇️ mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/issues-oct24/

@mmfranz.bsky.social @tnridout.bsky.social @efranklinfowler.bsky.social
Presidential Advertising Issue Spotlight (7/22/24 – 10/15/24) - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
October 17, 2024 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Wesleyan Media Project
📢 For those who care about transparency and #darkmoney in elections, we’ve found at least $281 million so far from advertisers who may not report all of their donors. #2024election polisky #polcomm #commsky ⬇️⬇️
October 16, 2024 at 5:04 PM
💥 NEW report from WMP, @opensecretsdc.bsky.social, and @brennancenter.bsky.social sheds light on the scope of online ad spending this election cycle on the two largest online platforms, Google and Meta.

Read more: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/reports-1016...

#2024election #politicalads
New report details at least $600 million in digital Ad spending this cycle - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
October 16, 2024 at 4:17 PM
💥NEW from WMP: Trump and his allies show signs of closing the TV ad gap in the past week, but Harris still has large leads online.

Read the full report: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-101...

@mmfranz.bsky.social @tnridout.bsky.social @efranklinfowler.bsky.social w/ @opensecretsdc.bsky.social
Trump Narrows Harris’ Ad Advantage in Past Week - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
October 11, 2024 at 2:34 PM
💡 WMP Issue Spotlight: This is the third post in a series of issue mentions in federal races by state shows the percentage of ads mentioning eight key issues tracked by the WMP.

See the release for more details: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/issues-sept24/
October 3, 2024 at 8:18 PM
💥 NEW from WMP: Harris is dominating digital platforms, particularly Facebook and Instagram.

Read the full report for more: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-092...

@mmfranz.bsky.social, @tnridout.bsky.social, and @efranklinfowler.bsky.social

#2024election #politicalads
September 28, 2024 at 12:09 AM
💥NEW from WMP: Pro-Trump Ads Declining on TV; Harris outspends Trump 16:1 on Meta & 3:1 on Google.

Pro-Harris TV ads more common than pro-Trump in almost all media markets nationally.

mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-092...
@efranklinfowler.bsky.social @tnridout.bsky.social @mmfranz.bsky.social
Pro-Trump TV Ads Plummet in Past Two Weeks as Harris Expands Ad Advantage Across Platforms - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
September 27, 2024 at 12:34 AM
📢 With control of the House and Senate in play, the latest WMP report includes key findings and ad data:

• House ad volume sets records.
• Outside groups are heavily involved.

mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-091...

@opensecretsdc.bsky.social

#politicalads #2024election
Presidential Campaign Turns to Economic Issues - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
September 13, 2024 at 2:00 PM
💥NEW from WMP: Dem, GOP TV ads are almost equal, but Harris is outspending Trump nearly 3:1 on Meta & Google.

Airings in pres race have shifted to focus on the economy.

Full report: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-091...

@mmfranz.bsky.social @tnridout.bsky.social @efranklinfowler.bsky.social
Presidential Campaign Turns to Economic Issues - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
September 12, 2024 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Wesleyan Media Project
We have a visualization @wesmediaproject.bsky.social showing television ad volume where you can see the comparison: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-082...
September 5, 2024 at 11:35 AM
💥 New WMP report: Trump & allies unleash barrage of attack ads. Harris is competitive on TV & w/DNC heavily outspending Trump on Meta & Google. #2024election polisky polcomm #commsky

@tnridout.bsky.social @efranklinfowler.bsky.social

Read the full report: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-082...
Trump and Allies Launch Barrage of Negative Ads - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
August 29, 2024 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Wesleyan Media Project
Such a fantastic site for campaign advertising information and figures! I use it in class all the time.
Thanks for this! Would also plug @wesmediaproject.bsky.social for advertising data useful for teaching about US elections this fall!
August 25, 2024 at 9:51 PM
📢 New WMP report: Trump and allies are currently out-airing Harris and allies on TV in the early restart of the presidential general election. #2024Election #Presidentialelection

@efranklinfowler.bsky.social @tnridout.bsky.social

mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-081...
Trump Out-Airing Harris in Early Restart of General Election - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
August 16, 2024 at 2:37 PM
💥New WMP Report on pre/post debate TV ads: Biden activity in the 2 weeks before & after the debate was steady, but pro-Biden ads declined.

@tnridout.bsky.social @efranklinfowler.bsky.social

Read the full report here: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-071...

#2024election
Biden campaign TV ad spending steady since debate; pro-Biden group spending drops
Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
July 16, 2024 at 8:26 PM
💥WMP Report Digital Update: The Biden campaign has outspent the Trump campaign by more than 3:1 on digital ads since March 6
@tnridout.bsky.social

@efranklinfowler.bsky.social
w/
@opensecretsdc.bsky.social
Read the full report here: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-053...

#2024election
Digital Ad Spending Nearly Even with TV in Presidential General Election
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
May 31, 2024 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Wesleyan Media Project
Here’s the latest from WMP on TV 📺 advertising, including updates on volume, spending, and issues in presidential and congressional races and tone in the presidential general election so far!

Stay tuned for a digital advertising update next week… polisky polcomm #commsky
May 23, 2024 at 6:30 PM
💥New WMP Report: Biden airs $13m in broadcast ads since Super Tuesday.  Trump campaign has none. @tnridout.bsky.social @efranklinfowler.bsky.social & Michael Franz w/ @opensecretsdc.bsky.social

Read the full report here: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-052...

polisky polcom #commsky
Biden on TV in Key States, While Trump is Off-Air - Wesleyan Media Project
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
May 23, 2024 at 6:25 PM
📈💰Biden dominating the digital space, outspending Trump by 5:1 on Meta and Google. Biden’s campaign has totaled more than $23M, compared to the just over $4M by Trump’s campaign. Read more in our newest report: mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-031...
March 18, 2024 at 11:54 AM