Importance of Disclosure in Digital Advertising

Digital advertising transparency is crucial to uphold campaign finance laws, combat corruption, and empower voters to make informed decisions. Research shows that voters value transparency in campaign spending and support candidates who are more open about their funding sources. The merit of transparency lies in promoting trust and accountability in the political landscape.

• Digital Advertising
• Transparency
• Campaign Finance
• Voter Empowerment
• Political Accountability

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1. Why disclosure of digital advertising is important Travis N. Ridout Co-director, Wesleyan Media Project Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Professor of Government and Public Policy Washington State University

2. Wesleyan Media Project Founded in 2010 Collaboration of WSU, Wesleyan and Bowdoin Tracks local broadcast TV advertising, national cable and national broadcast, Facebook and other digital, radio Goal is transparency

3. Digital ad spending ($ millions)

5. Presidential candidate ad spending by medium (2019-2020)

6. Whats the merit of transparency? Courts have identified three rationales for disclosure - to help enforce campaign finance law - to combat corruption or its appearance - to provide voters with information that can help them vote their interests

7. So is disclosure actually useful to voters?

8. Survey: voters like disclosure % finding "important" or "very important" Transparency about campaign finance Disclose group spending Disclose campaign spending 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Data from 2015 CCES

9. Survey: voters claim to want more info From Wood (2018)

10. Experiment: Wood (2018) Vignette featuring two candidates - Johnson: Transparency grade of C; supported by groups with anonymous donors - Conley: Transparency grade of A; over-discloses Upshot: Voters reward transparency - More transparent candidate rated 14 points more favorably on 100 point scale - Effect driven more by punishing than rewarding Mechanism is trust: transparency engenders voter trust

11. Experiment: Ridout, et al. (2015) Featured attack ad with various types of disclosure:

12. Findings Ads sponsored by unknown groups are more effective than candidate sponsored ads - i.e., voters find Americans for a Better America ads more persuasive than candidate-sponsored ads BUT disclosure of donors reduces the influence of group advertising, leveling the playing field such that candidate- and group-sponsored attacks become equally effective.

13. What are the key differences between digital and other types of advertisers that regulators and policy-makers should be thoughtful about? Speed Cost Different/multiple goals Less trustworthy speakers on digital than TV

14. How have state laws not kept up with what the needs are, given today s landscape?

15. What are the barriers to getting the public information as quickly and comprehensively as possible?

16. Would it be a good path to have filer reporting requirements cover the types of information that advertisers are asked to report?