How the Trump Campaign Used Facebook Ads to Amplify His ‘Invasion’ Claim

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has harnessed Facebook advertising to push the idea of an “invasion” at the southern border, amplifying the fear-inducing language about immigrants that he has also voiced at campaign rallies and on Twitter. Since Jan, President Trump’s re-election campaign has posted more than 2,000 ads on Facebook that include the word “invasion” — part of a barrage of advertising focused on immigration, a dominant theme of his re-election messaging. President Trump’s language on immigration — particularly his use of the word “invasion” — is under scrutiny after the mass shooting in El Paso on Aug 3. The suspect in that shooting, which left 22 people dead, appeared to be the author of a manifesto declaring that “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” In his re-election campaign, President Trump has spent an estimated $1.25 million on Facebook ads about immigration since late March. Those ads represent a significant portion of the roughly $5.6 million that President Trump has spent on Facebook advertising during that period. Many of the ads began with a blunt message — “We have an INVASION!” — and went on to say, “It’s CRITICAL that we STOP THE INVASION.”