Political advertising on digital platforms has become a key tool in election campaigns.
In this context,Esteban Zunino, dean of the School of Communication atUniversidad ORT Uruguay, andFrancisco Arri, academic secretary of the School of Communication, published the paper "Between Consensus and Polarization: An Analysis of Ads Posted on Meta by the Leading Candidates for the 2024 Uruguayan Presidency" in the University of Piura’sJournal of Communication.
The article examines how the leading presidential candidates used paid advertising on Metaduring the 2024 election campaign, with the aim of understanding the prevailing discursive strategies and their relationship to the country’s political dynamics.
An Analysis of Digital Political Communication
The study analyzes thousands of ads published in Meta's ad library and examines the types of messages that were promoted during the presidential campaign.
The research focuses specifically on determining whether the discourses prioritized appeals to political consensus —a hallmark of Uruguay’s democratic tradition—or whether they adopted more confrontational strategies.
Digital advertising gained prominence in election campaigns due to its ability to target specific audiences and its wide reach.
- Read the full paper: Between Consensus and Polarization: An Analysis of the Messages Posted on META by the Leading Candidates for the 2024 Uruguayan Presidency
In the run-up to the 2024 national elections, candidates spent more than $1.29 million on ads on Meta, targeting primarily young audiences using demographic and geographic targeting strategies.
Based on this analysis, the paper provides empirical evidence to help understand how political debate unfolds on digital platforms and what role these tools play in contemporary electoral communication strategies.
Academic Contributions from the School of Communication
The research was conducted by two scholars with extensive experience in the study of political communication and digital media.
Dr. Esteban Zuninois the dean of the School of Communication atUniversidad ORT Uruguay. His academic work focuses on media analysis, political communication, and the digital transformation of communication.
Throughout his career, he has participated in numerous research projects related to the study of the media ecosystem and the relationship between technology, politics, and public opinion.
For his part, Dr.Francisco Arriserves as the academic secretary of the School of Communication within the same faculty.
His work combines academic research with university teaching in areas related to political communication, election campaigns, and discourse analysis in digital environments.
The publication of this article is part of a research initiative aimed at further exploring the changes taking place in political campaigns in the age of social media platforms.
Digital Advertising and Campaign Strategies
The study focuses on how the candidates used digital advertising to promote their messages and shape their campaign narratives.
Compared to traditional media such as television or radio, digital platforms allow for greater control over the reach of communications, lower production costs, and more precise audience targeting.
These characteristics have made social media a key arena for contemporary political communication, where messages aimed at building consensus coexist with those that seek to mobilize specific audiences through more polarizing narratives.
The paper thus offers an academic analysis of how these strategies manifest themselves in the Uruguayan context and what implications they may have for public debate.