Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump steals the show from 2020 Democrat candidates with top YouTube ads

"More people will see this ad placement than will watch tonight's debate"

Stephanie Fillion
New York
Wednesday 26 June 2019 13:30 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump has bought some of the web's most prime real estate to fundraise for his 2020 re-election campaign - apparently hoping to capitalise on two nights of Democratic debate.

Campaign ads currently appear across YouTube's homepage masthead, a few hours before the site livestreams tonight's Democratic debate.

"At 9pm tonight [the debate start time] my campaign team is bringing me an updated list of my supporters," Trump says in one ad. "I hope I'll see your name on the list." The ad then ask supporters to send a text message to a phone number to be added to the list.

Another video shows images of terrorists and migrants, followed by images of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi while a voice is saying: “Drugs, terrorists, violent criminals and child traffickers trying to enter our country. But Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer care more about the radical left than keeping us safe. The consequences? Drug deaths. Violent murder. Gang violence.”

The progressive digital agency Acronym tweeted earlier on Wednesday: "More people will see this ad placement than will watch tonight's debate."

YouTube offers ads on a cost-per-thousand basis, so it is unclear how much Trump spent to get this primetime spot. The Trump campaign did not respond to The Independent about how much it spent on this ad placement.

Daniel Scarvalone, senior director of research and data at Bully Pulpit Interactive, told VICE News that his strategy firm, that works with Democrat clients, has spent between $500,000 and $1 million on such ad placements.

There are other platforms on which people can watch tonight's debate, including, NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.

Support free-thinking journalism and subscribe to Independent Minds

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in