The Bharatiya Janata Party was the top advertiser on Facebook on “social issues, elections and politics” over the last 18 months, accordin...
The Bharatiya Janata Party was the top advertiser on Facebook on “social issues, elections and politics” over the last 18 months, according to Facebook’s advertisement spending tracker, The Indian Express reported on Thursday. The saffron party spent over Rs 4.61 crore on Facebook ads since February 2019, followed by the Congress party at Rs 1.84 crore, according to data till August 24.
Among the top 10 spenders on Facebook in the 18 months were four other advertisers linked to the BJP, including three that share the same address in Delhi as the party’s national headquarters. These four are community pages “My First Vote for Modi” (spending Rs 1.39 crore) and “Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat” (Rs 2.24 crore); a website – Nation With Namo (Rs 1.28 crore) – and a page (Rs 0.65 crore) affiliated to BJP leader and former MP RK Sinha.
Together with the BJP, the spending of these four pages was Rs 10.17 crore, or nearly two-thirds of the Rs 15.81 crore of the top 10 in this category.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology has summoned Facebook representatives for a discussion on September 2, about allegations that the social media giant had chosen to ignore hate speech made by BJP leaders on its platform. The committee’s chairperson Shashi...
