Highlights •First assessment of vaccine-related advertisements on Facebook Ad Archive. •Top pro-vaccine ad themes: vaccine promotion, philanthropy, news. •Top anti-vaccine ad themes: vaccine harm, promoting choice, uncovering “fraud”. •Two buyers accounted for majority (54%) of anti-vaccine advertising content. •Facebook policies negatively impact first time ad buyers, largely pro-vaccine.
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.
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.
+++++++++++++++ In summary , a small set of anti-vaxxer scum were responsible for most of the anti-vax ads on Facebook. RFK Jr was one of them. He went to Samoa to promote his message .
