Amelia M Jamison1, David A Broniatowski2, Mark Dredze3, Zach Wood-Doughty3, DureAden Khan4, Sandra Crouse Quinn5. 1. Center for Health Equity, 3302 School of Public Health Building, 4200 Valley Drive, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. Electronic address: ajam1@umd.edu. 2. Department of Engineering Management & Systems Engineering, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA. 3. Computer Science Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. 4. Center for Health Equity, 3302 School of Public Health Building, 4200 Valley Drive, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. 5. Center for Health Equity, 3302 School of Public Health Building, 4200 Valley Drive, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Department of Family Science, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In 2018, Facebook introduced Ad Archive as a platform to improve transparency in advertisements related to politics and "issues of national importance." Vaccine-related Facebook advertising is publicly available for the first time. After measles outbreaks in the US brought renewed attention to the possible role of Facebook advertising in the spread of vaccine-related misinformation, Facebook announced steps to limit vaccine-related misinformation. This study serves as a baseline of advertising before new policies went into effect. METHODS: Using the keyword 'vaccine', we searched Ad Archive on December 13, 2018 and again on February 22, 2019. We exported data for 505 advertisements. A team of annotators sorted advertisements by content: pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine, not relevant. We also conducted a thematic analysis of major advertising themes. We ran Mann-Whitney U tests to compare ad performance metrics. RESULTS: 309 advertisements were included in analysis with 163 (53%) pro-vaccine advertisements and 145 (47%) anti-vaccine advertisements. Despite a similar number of advertisements, the median number of ads per buyer was significantly higher for anti-vaccine ads. First time buyers are less likely to complete disclosure information and risk ad removal. Thematically, anti-vaccine advertising messages are relatively uniform and emphasize vaccine harms (55%). In contrast, pro-vaccine advertisements come from a diverse set of buyers (83 unique) with varied goals including promoting vaccination (49%), vaccine related philanthropy (15%), and vaccine related policy (14%). CONCLUSIONS: A small set of anti-vaccine advertisement buyers have leveraged Facebook advertisements to reach targeted audiences. By deeming all vaccine-related content an issue of "national importance," Facebook has further the politicized vaccines. The implementation of a blanket disclosure policy also limits which ads can successfully run on Facebook. Improving transparency and limiting misinformation should not be separate goals. Public health communication efforts should consider the potential impact on Facebook users' vaccine attitudes and behaviors.
BACKGROUND: In 2018, Facebook introduced Ad Archive as a platform to improve transparency in advertisements related to politics and "issues of national importance." Vaccine-related Facebook advertising is publicly available for the first time. After measles outbreaks in the US brought renewed attention to the possible role of Facebook advertising in the spread of vaccine-related misinformation, Facebook announced steps to limit vaccine-related misinformation. This study serves as a baseline of advertising before new policies went into effect. METHODS: Using the keyword 'vaccine', we searched Ad Archive on December 13, 2018 and again on February 22, 2019. We exported data for 505 advertisements. A team of annotators sorted advertisements by content: pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine, not relevant. We also conducted a thematic analysis of major advertising themes. We ran Mann-Whitney U tests to compare ad performance metrics. RESULTS: 309 advertisements were included in analysis with 163 (53%) pro-vaccine advertisements and 145 (47%) anti-vaccine advertisements. Despite a similar number of advertisements, the median number of ads per buyer was significantly higher for anti-vaccine ads. First time buyers are less likely to complete disclosure information and risk ad removal. Thematically, anti-vaccine advertising messages are relatively uniform and emphasize vaccine harms (55%). In contrast, pro-vaccine advertisements come from a diverse set of buyers (83 unique) with varied goals including promoting vaccination (49%), vaccine related philanthropy (15%), and vaccine related policy (14%). CONCLUSIONS: A small set of anti-vaccine advertisement buyers have leveraged Facebook advertisements to reach targeted audiences. By deeming all vaccine-related content an issue of "national importance," Facebook has further the politicized vaccines. The implementation of a blanket disclosure policy also limits which ads can successfully run on Facebook. Improving transparency and limiting misinformation should not be separate goals. Public health communication efforts should consider the potential impact on Facebook users' vaccine attitudes and behaviors.
Authors: Elvira Ortiz-Sánchez; Almudena Velando-Soriano; Laura Pradas-Hernández; Keyla Vargas-Román; Jose L Gómez-Urquiza; Guillermo A Cañadas-De la Fuente; Luis Albendín-García Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-07-27 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Erika Bonnevie; Jaclyn Goldbarg; Allison K Gallegos-Jeffry; Sarah D Rosenberg; Ellen Wartella; Joe Smyser Journal: Rev Panam Salud Publica Date: 2021-05-12