It’s unheard of, even for the United States: in just a few weeks, Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and candidate for the Democratic nomination for the American presidential election, spent more than $ 509 million in political ads, in the media, and on social networks, to support his campaign. A drop in the comfortable fortune of the multi-billionaire, estimated by Forbes magazine at 62 billion dollars.
Multi-billionaire candidate broke all records
On the Internet, the amounts spent are astronomical: the candidate is the biggest buyer of political ads on Google (41 million dollars in a few months, against 12 million for the central committee supporting Donald Trump in more than a year). On Facebook, Bloomberg spent nearly $ 10 million on ads in his official account alone in the past week and more than $ 53 million since the campaign began.
Most commercials target Donald Trump and his record, but also his Democratic rivals, starting with Bernie Sanders, the left-wing candidate of the party who is currently running for the nomination. An average of 30,000 American Internet users sees an advertisement for Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign every minute, according to calculations by the American press.
A Campaign Financed by its Bloomberg’s funds
These large budgets have attracted much attention from the American media because the candidates’ advertising expenses have traditionally been one of the indicators of good health in an electoral campaign in the United States. But Mr. Bloomberg’s case is unique in more than one way: first because, unlike most candidates, his funding comes from his own funds, while his rivals depend on donations from individuals or companies. Unlike other candidates, Mr. Bloomberg’s expenses, therefore, do not show the extent of popular support he enjoys.
Super Tuesday
Above all, these expenses are also the reflection of a particular campaign strategy, which bet everything on “Super Tuesday” – Tuesday, March 3, 15 states will vote for the Democratic nomination, including the very populated California. The former Marie of New York, therefore, invested heavily in a “carpet of bombs” advertising to hope to appear victorious from this crucial stage of the designation process.
Is this strategy effective? Numerous studies conducted in the United States on the effectiveness of political advertisements show that yes, they can play a role in an election, but that they are not a miracle recipe. They mobilize supporters and help convince the undecided, but they can only very rarely change the mind of an elector who has already made his choice.
Read also: Bernie Sanders Draws Criticism for His Remarks
Opinion poll
Strangled by his rivals, on February 19, during a debate during which the debatable record of his three terms in the mayor of New York debated at length, the billionaire Democratic candidate is falling in the polls. Opinion poll after debate shows it is the first choice only for 17% of Democratic voters, compared to 30% for Bernie Sanders, and the proportion of Democrats with a “bad opinion” of it has increased ten points in a few days, from 25% to 35%.
Furthermore, another candidacy shows that the amounts invested are not a guarantee of success: Tom Steyer, billionaire, and philanthropist, capped at around 2% in voting intentions, despite spending on notable online advertising. He spent more than $ 7 million on Google ads, about the same amount paid by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Misleading messages
In addition, even more than the amounts of money invested. The messages published by Mr. Bloomberg and his methods have democratic activists raising many questions. On Monday, his official campaign account posted several quotes on Twitter, presented as comments by Bernie Sanders on several authoritarian heads of state.
“Look, we all know that Bashar Al-Assad has committed multiple war crimes against his people, but let’s not forget that he has put in place a paper recycling system to reduce waste!” So, when you think about it, he is a kind of hero,” said one of these messages, for example. Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign presented them as obvious satires; his opponents denounce a large-scale attempt at disinformation.
Social Networks
Coupled with other posts posted online by Mr. Bloomberg also drew sharp criticism and drew comparisons with the techniques used by Donald Trump and his supporters online. A video extracted from the debate, whose soundtrack was slightly modified to give the impression that his opponents had failed to respond to a remark by Michael Bloomberg, thus played with the limits of legality – and rules of moderation social networks. Facebook has authorized this advertisement; Twitter said it would violate its new rules, which implemented are due to be next month.
Use of “influencers.”
not to mention Other advertisements, which not presented as such, were the subject of different decisions by Facebook and Twitter. Posts published for a fee by “influencers” to promote Mr. Bloomberg eventually accepted on Instagram and Facebook. Mr. Bloomberg has also hired people responsible for posting messages on his behalf on social media daily, sometimes in a coordinated fashion via a dedicated application; Twitter suspended 70 such accounts at the end of February, which the social network considered “manipulative.”
Equally important, the similarities between Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump’s online campaigns do not surprise some observers. “These are just two rich New Yorkers who manage democracy as they run their business,” writes David Carroll, specialist data and online ads, whose complaint against Cambridge Analytica has played a significant role in the scandal involving the country from 2016 by Donald Trump. “This is what we are getting for wanting the government to be run more like a business. “