{"id":887,"date":"2024-11-23T09:40:08","date_gmt":"2024-11-23T09:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/?p=887"},"modified":"2024-12-05T20:34:27","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T20:34:27","slug":"ge24-media-dynamics-attack-ads-milking-media-appearances-and-organic-tiktoks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/ge24-media-dynamics-attack-ads-milking-media-appearances-and-organic-tiktoks\/","title":{"rendered":"#GE24 Media Dynamics: attack ads, milking media appearances, and organic TikToks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aoife Barry reviews the media dynamics of GE24 for EDMO Ireland and FuJo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While \u2018attack ads\u2019 have been a feature of American life since the 1960s (we can thank some of the era\u2019s pioneering ad men for that)<\/a>, they\u2019re not a prominent part of Irish politics. Yet this week saw the first attack ad of General Election 2024, aimed by Fine Gael squarely at Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ad, which featured dramatic music over footage of a pink piggy bank being smashed, claimed in a voiceover that \u201cSinn F\u00e9in would raid our public finances\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The voiceover went on to claim that Fine Gael has built up a \u20ac16 billion fund (in the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund) and that Sinn F\u00e9in would \u201csmash and grab all of it in a heist on the public finances\u201d. The ad further claimed that Sinn F\u00e9in cannot be trusted and would \u201cdestroy the economy and put our future at risk\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The press release for the ad <\/a>was timed, for maximum effect, to coincide with Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s official launch of its election manifesto. In the release, Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Paschal Donohoe called on Sinn F\u00e9in to commit to retaining the fund, and for the party\u2019s Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty to debate with him on his party\u2019s plans to provide for the Irish people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As attack ads go, it perhaps didn\u2019t have the impact Fine Gael would have hoped. While it was widely viewed online – there were over 42k views of this tweet alone <\/a>– as this RT\u00c9 analysis piece <\/a>points out, it showed the risk of running an attack ad before you have all the information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYet on the central charge – a Sinn F\u00e9in intention to squander \u20ac16bn currently squirrelled away in the twin rainy day funds – the party’s manifesto didn’t say what Fine Gael said it said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald spoke about the \u201ccheek\u201d of Fine Gael when she was interviewed on Virgin Media News<\/a> that evening. \u201cThat ad is a lie – either that or Fine Gael can\u2019t read,\u201d countered McDonald. <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an attack ad, it was somewhat of a damp squib. Yes, it garnered a day of headlines, but the online sentiment towards it wasn\u2019t hugely positive. If anything, it gave those opposed to Fine Gael an opportunity to criticise the party on social media – and criticise they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, for Fine Gael it was a chance to show that it\u2019s willing to fight a little dirty in the race to win in this year\u2019s election. If there\u2019s a lesson to be learned by any other parties planning to launch \u2018attack ads\u2019 in the coming week, it\u2019s to choose your accusation wisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political ad spends<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Fine Gael was the big spender this week when it came to ads across Meta platforms (i.e., Facebook and Instagram). While the other parties typically spent hundreds of euro on promoting ads, Fine Gael spent \u20ac1k – \u20ac1.5k on promoting 45 similar ad<\/a>s about its \u2018older people\u2019s guarantee\u2019. The multiple versions of this ad were viewed up to 200k times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s ads this week<\/a> on Meta platforms included two ads specifically about candidates – Senator Catherine Ardagh and Cllr Deirdre O\u2019Brien – and two ads about its supporters\u2019 draw competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a slow start on the ad front, Sinn F\u00e9in began running several ads on Meta platforms<\/a>, including a clip of party leader Mary Lou McDonald taken from the RT\u00c9 Upfront show. Candidates are certainly savvy this year about milking their media appearances for all they\u2019re worth, and being willing to pay for ads featuring these clips. But the party\u2019s spend was much lower overall than Fine Gael, with it spending hundreds rather than thousands on promoting the ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Party spent up to \u20ac399 on its Meta ads, two of which were still live on Friday, <\/a>and both featuring party leader Roderic O\u2019Gorman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Social Democrats\u2019 ads on Meta platforms mainly featured party leader Holly Cairns. But it also paid to promote an unusual ad with candidate Cllr Eoin Hayes<\/a>, who showed that a campaign ad can be impactful and comedic<\/a> – with no \u2018attacking\u2019 necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike other parties, Labour focused not just on local or national issues in its Meta ads – one of its ads this week featured party leader Ivana Bacik talking about the war in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who are the parties targeting with their online ads? RT\u00c9\u2019s Behind the Ballot podcast<\/a> had an interesting guest on Thursday who shed some light on the parties\u2019 interaction with social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donagh Murphy of ThinkHouse shared analysis of the parties\u2019 ad performance online, and what age groups they aim their ads at. He found that Fianna F\u00e1il doesn\u2019t appear to target people aged under 25 or 27 in its ads on Meta platforms, while Sinn F\u00e9in aren\u2019t targeting their ads on these platforms at people aged over 44. For more of his insights, check out the full podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which parties use Bluesky?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Twitter\/X alternative Bluesky has attracted over a million new users<\/a> since the recent US election, including many Irish users, over fears about misinformation on the social media platform owned by Elon Musk. But have Ireland\u2019s main political parties found a new home on Bluesky?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out it\u2019s not playing as much of a role in most parties\u2019 social media strategies compared to other platforms. Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> and Labour <\/a>both appear to have accounts which have never posted, while there\u2019s no sign of a Social Democrats account (despite the party usually being great at online engagement).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three active parties on Bluesky however are Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a>, People Before Profit <\/a>and Fine Gael<\/a>. But their reach just isn\u2019t as good there as on established platforms yet – compare Fine Gael\u2019s 958 (at the time of writing) Bluesky followers to the 62k it has on Twitter.<\/a> While it\u2019s wise of the parties to nab their spots on the site – and avoid imposters using their handles – it\u2019s not yet an online space that will have a serious impact on GE24, unless something radical happens in the next week, which is highly unlikely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s factchecking<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

This week has once again provided factcheckers an opportunity to analyse claims being made on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Journal factchecked a claim <\/a>made by Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald about Ireland\u2019s Carbon Tax. While at a meeting of the National Council of the Irish Farmers\u2019 Association (IFA), McDonald said that the tax \u201chas not reduced our emissions and is extremely unfair\u201d. The Journal factcheckers looked at the evidence for the claim, and found it to be false<\/a>, with a detailed verdict setting out the background to the tax and experts\u2019 views on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An interesting example of how old news reports can be used to mislead voters cropped up on Tuesday. As explained in this Debunk by The Journal<\/a>, an old headline has been doing the rounds that claims Simon Harris believes unvaccinated children should be barred from schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The headline actually comes from an article in the Irish Times in 2019, pointing to the need for voters to be cautious around the content they encounter on social media. Find more information here from EDMO around media literacy and how it can help you parse through what you\u2019re seeing on social media.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immigration<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

While much attention is being paid to what candidates post on their social media pages, this week saw the focus put on what a Fianna F\u00e1il candidate posted in TikTok comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Irish Independent reported<\/a>, an account owned by Longford-Westmeath hopeful Dympna Cunniffe posted comments on a TikTok account about a mooted asylum seeker accommodation centre in Athlone. The accommodation has been a contentious topic locally<\/a> and videos of protests in the area have been shared on social media, including by Irish right wing accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fianna F\u00e1il leader Miche\u00e1l Martin said he didn\u2019t \u201capprove of the comments\u201d by Cunniffe, while in a statement to the Irish Independent, Cunniffe said that the comments \u201cshould not be taken as statements\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Journal<\/a> also reported that Cunniffe published a video about the temporary accommodation centre on TikTok, which was later deleted. While TikTok doesn\u2019t allow political ads, politicians are free to use the platform to post what are called \u2018organic\u2019 videos<\/a> – something which led to Simon Harris being called the \u2018TikTok Taoiseach\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trends this week<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

What topics saw the most interactions in the media and social media this week in the run up to GE24? Looking at data gathered by NewsWhip, housing was the big issue of the week in terms of articles published. The biggest days for coverage of the topic were Tuesday 19 November and Wednesday 20 November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, the topics of immigration and housing were combined in media coverage of accommodation conditions for asylum seekers in Crooksling<\/a>. Meanwhile, there was also coverage <\/a>of Green Party housing spokesperson Francis Noel Duffy and a housing scheme he voted against, as well as subsequent coverage of his party leader Roderic O\u2019Gorman and his confirmation that he had lodged objections to housing developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, the issues of immigration and housing came together in one of the most interacted-with articles on Facebook that day, a column in the Irish Examiner<\/a>. Two articles published on Gript about immigration also trended highly on Newswhip during the week: Election – How Helen Mc Entee is being flatly dishonest on Immigration<\/a> <\/strong>and SF says Immigration rate isn’t too high, just poorly handled<\/a>, highlighting an interest among readers and online commenters on op-ed pieces on the issue in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As COP29 rolled on without a deal, climate change was still in the news – peaking with coverage of Green Party leader Eamon Ryan\u2019s speech at the event in Baku on Tuesday.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest day for coverage of immigration according to Newswhip was Wednesday 20 November, due to two columns: the aforementioned Irish Examiner column, and a column for subscribers of Gript<\/a> which accused RT\u00c9 of \u2018dishonesty\u2019 over skilled workers and immigration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aoife Barry reviews the media dynamics of GE24 for EDMO Ireland and FuJo. While \u2018attack ads\u2019 have been a feature of American life since the 1960s (we can thank some of the era\u2019s pioneering ad men for that), they\u2019re not a prominent part of Irish politics. Yet this week saw the first attack ad of … Read More “#GE24 Media Dynamics: attack ads, milking media appearances, and organic TikToks”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections","category-news"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/general-election.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":889,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions\/889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmohub.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}