Climate groups spending more on Facebook ads in the Midwest than polluters
Climate groups are especially present in PA, while polluters are outspending in MN
Climate groups last week outspent polluters on Facebook ads targeting six key Midwestern states: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. We looked at the spending totals by the biggest advertisers among climate groups and polluters, including:
BlueGreen Alliance,
League of Conservation Voters,
Environmental Defense Fund + EDF Action,
Earthjustice,
Friends of the Earth U.S.,
Sierra Club,
NRDC + NRDC Action,
Science Moms (Potential Energy Coalition),
ExxonMobil,
American Petroleum Institute,
Enbridge, and
Center of the American Experiment
To break down their spending, here’s how much those climate groups and polluters spent targeting the above six states with Facebook ads last week:
Climate groups’ Facebook spending is particularly dominant in Pennsylvania thanks to relatively large investments by the Potential Energy Coalition’s Science Moms page and EDF Action, which together spent $26,798 targeting the state last week. While Science Moms is targeting PA as part of a nationwide pro-climate action campaign targeting states with key U.S. Senate races in 2022, EDF Action’s huge spending in the state can largely be attributed to ads thanking Reps. Conor Lamb, Susan Wild, and Brian Fitzpatrick for “limiting harmful methane pollution.”
Climate groups also significantly outspent polluters in the Mitten State thanks to the League of Conservation Voters and BlueGreen Alliance, which together spent $7,883 targeting the state last week. BlueGreen Alliance started a Facebook ad campaign earlier this month - targeting OH, PA, MI, MN, and WI - pushing for “a strong infrastructure and manufacturing plan” that helps “the working family with both good-paying jobs and clean air and water.”
Meanwhile, LCV started a campaign targeting Democratic Reps. Haley Stevens and Elissa Slotkin, thanking them for “fighting for clean energy that can power our economy and create good jobs, right here.” Both of the groups' campaigns overwhelmingly target older women in the states they’re targeting.
Two groups are driving most of the polluter spending targeting Minnesota: Enbridge and Center of the American Experiment. While Enbridge is running the same Facebook ads from months ago that highlight Line 3’s “unprecedented level of Tribal engagement” and the argument that they’re “replacing an aging pipeline with safer, state-of-the-art infrastructure,” Center of the American Experiment is using their ads to push harder against transitioning away from fossil fuels. They portray transitioning to wind and solar as an “environmental catastrophe” and argue that coal plants keep energy in Minnesota “reliable and affordable,” a very common tactic among clean energy opponents.
Together, these two groups spent $7,677 on Facebook ads targeting Minnesota last week.