US Midterm Election Fever Surpasses Presidential Race... There Are Separate People Making Money

Murdoch-affiliated Fox Political Ad Spending Three Times 2020 Presidential Election
This Year's Political Ad Budget 17 Trillion Won, Set to Break Record

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] With the U.S. midterm elections just 100 days away, the competition among candidates to gain the upper hand is intensifying. Spending on election-related advertisements is approaching $10 billion, expected to set a record high. Concerns are rising that excessive competition may devolve into negative campaigning based on mudslinging, prompting social networking services (SNS) such as Twitter to take countermeasures.

According to foreign media on the 12th (local time), Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation, stated during the earnings announcement on the 10th that "the revenue generated from political advertisements related to the midterm elections from March to the end of June is three times that of the 2020 presidential election."

He added, "This midterm election will be recorded as the largest case of advertising expenditure in U.S. election history," and "As November, the month of the election, approaches, advertising spending is accelerating."

In fact, according to industry tallies, the midterm elections are expected to attract advertising spending surpassing previous elections.

GroupM, a media buying agency under the global advertising firm WPP, predicted that the U.S. political advertising budget this year will reach a record high of $13 billion (16.92 trillion KRW). This exceeds twice the $6 billion (7.81 trillion KRW) spent during the 2018 midterm elections and surpasses the $12 billion (15.62 trillion KRW) spent in the 2020 presidential election.

AdImpact, a U.S. advertising analytics firm, reported that $5 billion (5.65 trillion KRW) was spent on broadcast ads, $1.5 billion (1.95 trillion KRW) on cable TV, and $1.4 billion (1.82 trillion KRW) on streaming TV. Reflecting this trend, Fox News earned $358 million (466 billion KRW) in advertising revenue in the fourth quarter alone, a 14% increase compared to the same period last year.

The political media outlet The Hill explained that political polarization among voters and the activation of online fundraising platforms are the main factors driving the increase in political advertising spending. The expansion of channels allowing small donors to contribute political funds via online platforms has influenced political advertising expenditures.

Traditionally, U.S. midterm elections have a strong character of judging the ruling party. This year’s midterm election is attracting more attention than ever, as President Joe Biden’s approval rating has significantly dropped amid the highest inflation in 41 years and controversies over the Afghanistan withdrawal, with former President Donald Trump expected to announce his presidential candidacy.

The election results are expected to significantly reshape the U.S. political landscape. There are forecasts that the Republican Party may take control of both the House and Senate, which are currently dominated by the Democratic Party.

As political advertising competition heats up around the media, the possibility of the spread of fake news and misinformation is also increasing. In response, Twitter plans to crack down on false information posts to deliver accurate information ahead of the midterm elections.

According to major foreign media on the day, Twitter announced that it will apply the "Civic Integrity Policy," introduced in 2018, starting from the November midterm elections to prevent the spread of false information.

The "Civic Integrity Policy" focuses on deleting posts that encourage voting disruption or undermine trust in elections, or labeling them with false information warnings. Once labeled, the posts will no longer be spread to other users.

Previously, in January last year, Twitter permanently suspended former U.S. President Donald Trump’s account for inciting violence and spreading false information related to the Capitol riot through Twitter.

Stanford University researchers, who recently published a study on posts on Twitter and Meta, pointed out that "Twitter and Facebook apply false information labels to only 70% of posts reported as false," emphasizing the need for social platforms to focus on removing posts containing fake news during the midterm election period.