Facebook’s Ad Metrics Come Under Scrutiny Yet Again

Facebook's advertising metrics have again been called into question, after Pivotal Research Group senior analyst Brian Wieser pointed out a large discrepancy between US census data and the potential reach that the social network promises advertisers. Wieser issued a note pointing out that Facebook's Adverts Manager tool promises a potential reach of 41 million 18-24 year-olds in the US, while recent census data said there only 31 million people living in the U.S. within that age range. For 25-34 year-olds, Facebook claims a potential reach of 60 million, versus the 45 million people counted in the census in 2016. Fortune's own experiments with the Adverts Manager backed up the figures Wieser quoted.

What's more, the problem does not seem to be confined to the U.S. For advertisers trying to target Facebook users in the U.K., the company promises it could potentially reach 5.8 million 20-24 year-olds, 6.4 million 25-29 year-olds, and 5.2 million 30-34 year olds. When the last census was conducted in 2011, the U.K. only had 4.3 million 20-24 year-olds, 4.3 million 25-29 year-olds, and 4.1 million 30-34 year olds.