Vice President Kamala Harris is practically running the table on Snapchat — a messaging app popular with younger voters — thanks largely in part to the platform’s refusal to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s account after banning him in January 2021.
Trump — who was still the sitting president at the time — was banned from Snapchat and several additional social media platforms after the January 6 Capitol protests. The platforms falsely accused him of “inciting violence,” ignoring the fact that Trump told supporters to remain peaceful. While Trump has been reinstated by most major social media platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube, Snapchat has yet to do so.
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The platform has told the Trump Campaign that they will take their money for political advertising, though any ads must go through in-house fact checks. The Trump Campaign has balked at the idea of spending any advertising dollars on the platform, however, according to a report from the New York Times.
According to Snapchat’s disclosures, the Harris-Walz campaign has spent over $5.3 million in ads on the platform. The Trump Campaign, on the other hand, has yet to spend a single dollar.
The Trump Campaign has accused the social media giant of engaging in election interference through its refusal to platform a major party presidential candidate. “Snapchat REFUSES to reinstate President Trump’s account — but then shamelessly asks the Trump campaign to advertise with Snapchat,” reads a post from the Trump War Room X account. “Big Tech is all in for Kamala!”
The post was accompanied by an email from Snapchat that urged the campaign to spend money on advertising. “I genuinely believe that Snapchatters are a key audience that can be persuaded to turn out for Trump,” reads the email before listing a number of metrics. “I would love to explore alternative paths forward for our partnership, even given the current state of the profile. If the team is skeptical about launching paid media without an organic presence, we highly recommend using the RNC’s profile or creating a new Vance profile,” the email continues.
Snapchat currently boasts over 100 million users in the United States, with roughly 80 percent being 18 or older and eligible to vote. The platform is also largely populated by individuals under the age of 35.
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