Facebook, trust and privacy in an election year: Balancing politics and advertising

Laura F. Bright, Kristen Leah Sussman and Gary B. Wilcox
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Laura F. Bright: Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin, USA
Kristen Leah Sussman: Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations, Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin, USA
Gary B. Wilcox: Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, The University of Texas at Austin, USA

Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, 2021, vol. 8, issue 4, 332-346

Abstract: Prior to the US 2020 presidential election, both Twitter and Google announced changes to their political advertising policies. This article explores trust and privacy issues relating to social media while evaluating current public opinion regarding political advertising on Facebook, which unlike Twitter and Google, has remained steadfast in its support for political advertising. The study uses a textual analysis of Twitter data collected from conversations in October 2019 to provide a snapshot of public rhetoric at this point in time. Results from the text analysis identify trends around the upcoming election, political advertising, Russia and Trump. Topics are further investigated using an online survey panel of 300 participants. ANOVA results indicate that privacy concerns are a key driver of desire to remove political advertising. The results suggest that user perception of Facebook advertising is decreasing as a result of privacy concerns related to trust in the platform. Political advertisers should therefore reevaluate their communication strategy with regard to Facebook advertising.

Keywords: privacy; online trust; political advertising; Facebook; public opinion; misinformation; online advertising (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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