On Facebook and Instagram, Political Ads Are Increasingly Critical of Data Centers
Political ads about data centers on Facebook and Instagram have turned increasingly critical, with 57% opposed and just 3% supportive ahead of the midterms.
The U.S. data center boom is emerging as a key issue in political advertising on social media in the home stretch of the midterm campaign season, a Pew Research Center analysis finds.
Spending on political ads mentioning data centers has increased exponentially in the run-up to the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. Over a period of 90 days from Jul. 27 to Oct. 24, advertisers on Facebook and Instagram spent almost $12 million on ads that mention data centers in the context of social issues, elections or politics. (In this analysis, we refer to these ads as “political ads.”)
As recently as January, pro-data center sentiment was slightly more common in this advertising than anti-data center sentiment. Among political ads mentioning data centers, 42% were supportive of them while 31% were critical. The remainder did not take a clear stance.
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