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Facebook Claims Reach Is Higher Than Census Numbers: Analyst

Tech giant said it reached more people in certain age groups than there actually are in the U.S.

Facebook’s Ads Manager claims its reach among certain age groups in the United States is more than the number of individuals who actually exist in those age groups, according to an analysis from Pivotal Research Group. For example, the Ads Manager platform reports a reach of 60 million Americans between the ages of 25 and 34, but according to U.S. Census data, there are actually 45 million Americans in that age group as of last year. “Measurement issues at Facebook have been top-of-mind...over the past year given revelations around over-stated average video viewing time, video viewing completions, miscalculations of organic page reach and other data which impacts how budgets are planned,” the Pivotal report states, adding that the disparity between “reach” data and Census numbers is “not widely known.”