Have you seen the Facebook post that shows you how to ‘secure a clean energy future for our children’? It all seems very nice when you see images of pristine mountains and start reading.
“👶 Mums make a lot of decisions for our families — how they live, and what kind of world they grow up in. We want an energy mix that works: clean, reliable, and safe.”
So sweet. Except when you realise the post is actually an ad for the nuclear energy lobby, cleverly disguised as an innocent mums group concerned about a clean environment.
In one week between the 15th to the 21st of March, Mums For Nuclear, spent more than $21,000 on Facebook and Instagram ads, according to online political ads database Who Targets Me.
Mums for Nuclear argue that nuclear power will reduce power bills and is essential for meeting climate goals – claims that have been widely debunked.
The ads declare “We’re not activists or lobbyists, but we know nuclear is our future”. But the contact email for the account is Nuclear for Australia, a lobby group backed by business mogul Dick Smith, with links to the Liberal Party, which supports nuclear power.
Following a warning from the Electoral Commission, the group’s advertising has dropped off, but the battle to manipulate mums continues.
On social media, political advertisers use a range of tactics to find the right audience. Usually your location is the main way they get to you, but the massive amounts of data the social media giants hold on your personal details and interests also puts a target on your back.
Nuclear lobbyists, unions, plus coal and gas industry front groups are spending nearly half their budgets trying to reach parents, and nearly the other half trying to reach people interested in renewable energy. Creative ways they are finding you is by asking Meta to send their ads to teachers, day care workers and anyone who is interested in education.
The Labor Party is running ads that explicitly target parents plus people interested in pregnancy and even baby showers.
Basically the worst person to be on social media right now is a female teacher with kids and solar panels who lives in a marginal electorate. If that’s you, be ready to receive an avalanche of half truths and energy disinformation over the next few weeks.
Downloading the browser extension at WhoTargets.me is one way you can learn who is sending you political ads on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The next best option is to switch off your social media until after the federal election.
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