Research Tools: Searchable Archive of Facebook and Instagram Ads With Political Content Goes Live

UPDATE: This new article from ProPublica about the database introduced below is an interesting and useful read.
See: “What Facebook’s New Political Ad System Misses”
See Also: ProPublica’s “Political Ads on Facebook” Database
See Also: Political Ad Collector

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From Facebook:

Starting today, all election-related and issue ads on Facebook and Instagram in the US must be clearly labeled – including a “Paid for by” disclosure from the advertiser at the top of the ad. This will help ensure that you can see who is paying for the ad – which is especially important when the Page name doesn’t match the name of the company or person funding the ad.
The archive contains ads that launched on or after May 7, 2018. Ads in the archive will be available for up to 7 years.
When you click on the label, you’ll be taken to an archive with more information. For example, the campaign budget associated with an individual ad and how many people saw it – including their age, location and gender.

That same archive can be reached by anyone in the world at facebook.com/politicalcontentads. People visiting the archive can see and search ads with political or issue content an advertiser has run in the US for up to seven years.
Advertisers wanting to run ads with political content in the US will need to verify their identity and location.
API
We know that outside experts, researchers, and academics can also help by analyzing political advertising on Facebook. It’s why we’re working closely with our newly-formed Election Commission and other stakeholders to launch an API for the archive.

Read the Complete Announcement
See Also: Q&A on Transparency for Electoral and Issue Ads (via Facebook)
See Also: Hard Questions: Why Doesn’t Facebook Just Ban Political Ads? (via Facebook)

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