In an election year marked by intense polarization and misinformation, USAFacts delivered a strategy to cut through the noise and get facts to the public. The paid campaign, titled “Just the Facts,” consisted of six PSA videos designed to arm American voters with nonpartisan, trustworthy government data on issues they care about most. Hosted by USAFacts founder and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the series delivered clear, visualized data on key voter issues: immigration, the federal budget, the economy, energy and the environment, health and healthcare, and America by the numbers. Launched in August, two episodes aired each month on broadcast and streaming platforms, answering questions like, “Is inflation increasing or decreasing?” and “What is the most common cause of death for 18-34 year olds?” With accessible insights on Americans’ top concerns, USAFacts worked to reach all voters through large platforms — including YouTube, X, Fox Affiliates, and NewsNation — to deliver data and inform their decision making. USAFacts built on its efforts to engage its community by monitoring and listening to conversations in its online communities, optimizing its site for peak user performance, adding new content, and securing high impact earned, influencer and paid opportunities.
USAFacts' mission is to provide Americans with source data directly from the government, empowering people to make up their own minds. With the Just the Facts campaign, USAFacts set out to deliver essential, nonpartisan information ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The goal was to reach as many Americans as possible with accessible, fact-based content on key issues shaping the country’s future. To achieve this, the campaign leveraged a multi-platform strategy across mainstream media, social media, and community engagement channels, driving traffic to USAFacts' website and YouTube page. The effort was designed to engage a broad audience, particularly politically engaged fact-seekers, to further USAFacts’ mission of fostering data-driven public discourse.
The campaign centered around a series of informational videos that provided clear, contextualized data on major policy issues, including immigration, healthcare, and the economy. The challenge was making complex topics digestible and engaging while maintaining strict neutrality. Each video was carefully scripted and edited to distill large amounts of government data into concise, 15-minute segments without sacrificing accuracy or depth. Striking this balance required a methodical approach: researching key topics in-depth, translating raw data into compelling narratives, and structuring each video to maximize clarity and retention. USAFacts released two videos per month, allowing audiences time to absorb the information while maintaining a steady flow of content throughout the election season.
A focal point of the campaign was ensuring the content was engaging without slipping into partisan framing. USAFacts addressed this by rigorously fact-checking all information, using only official government sources, and continuously refining messaging based on audience feedback. The team also adapted content formats to align with platform-specific best practices, ensuring maximum reach and engagement. For example, social media versions of the videos were optimized for shareability and shorter attention spans, while longer-form content provided deeper dives for more engaged viewers.
Another challenge was cutting through the noise of a crowded election media environment. To stand out, USAFacts emphasized transparency and trustworthiness, reinforcing its reputation as a reliable, nonpartisan source of information. The Just the Facts campaign helped drive awareness of USAFacts.org, which received a top rating for trust and minimal bias on the 2024 Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart. This credibility helped strengthen audience trust and expand the campaign’s reach, ultimately making it a valuable resource for voters seeking objective information.
Through careful execution and commitment to neutrality, USAFacts successfully produced a video series that reached 65 million Americans, equipping them with the facts before they headed to the polls.
Since its launch, the Just the Facts video series has reached more than 65 million people, driven over 400,000 USAFacts newsletter subscriptions, and drawn 125,000 Youtube subscribers, signaling that USAFacts’ emphasis on fact over rhetoric resonates with the American people. USAFacts.org saw a 101% increase in website traffic compared to 2023, welcoming nearly 61 million unique visitors who engaged with the content. The series also helped USAFacts build awareness and trust with influencers, journalists and podcasters: USAFacts received more than 3,000 media mentions from August through October, a 200% monthly average increase compared to the previous three months. Broadcast appearances around Just the Facts also played a considerable role in driving traffic to the site. In August, founder Steve Ballmer’s post-presidential debate interview on The Daily Show led to 178,000 new site visits and 30,000 new newsletter subscribers and contributed to the show’s highest-rated episode in seven years. The full impact of the campaign culminated on Election Day, when USAFActs saw a big bump in traffic and 2,000 new newsletter subscribers in just one day.
