BJP way ahead of others in political ad spending on Meta; proxy pages spent more than official ones

With the 2024 Lok Sabha elections barely a few weeks away, political campaigns have reached a fever pitch both on the ground and virtually. With India ranking very high on the list of countries with the largest number of Internet users in the world, parties have recognized the power of social media and are investing significant sums into their digital campaigns. Consequently, social media advertisements have come up as a crucial means for parties to communicate with the electorate.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others provide advertisers with enough information to run targeted advertisements reaching millions of voters. These targeted advertisements are based on factors such as location, demographics, interests, language, and behaviour, to achieve maximum impact.

Methodology

Alt News filtered data from the top 100 pages that spent the most on political advertisements in the last 90 days, as published by the Meta Ad Library on March 19 of this year. Advertisements run by leaders in their personal capacity were excluded from this data. Rahul Gandhi’s page is included in this data because the disclaimer in the advertisements run by him mentions the name of the Congress party.

Political advertisements on Facebook pages are of two types: official party pages, which share posts and propaganda according to party lines, and other pages that support a particular party through all posts and advertisements but do not have any official affiliation with the party. The expenditures on advertisements by these pages are not accounted for by the Election Commission. We have categorized such pages as proxy pages.

Analysis of this data revealed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has spent the most on political advertisements, but the expenditure on advertisements by BJP’s proxy pages exceeded that on their official advertisements.

Party and Government Advertisement Expenditure

BJP (including official and proxy pages)

The Bharatiya Janata Party has spent Rs. 74,407,939 on 10,884 advertisements through official pages and Rs. 84,175,893 through proxy pages.

Page ID	Page name	Disclaimer	Amount spent (INR)	Number of ads
121439954563203	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	61670515	2710
174425559078659	Ulta Chashma – उल्टा चस्मा	Ulta Chashmaa	20333950	428
574079826086251	Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar	phirekbaarmodisarkar.com	18714772	2498
192548643939288	MemeXpress	Memes Xpress	6835584	183
206212622563937	Political X-Ray	Political X Ray	6107215	161
192548643939288	MemeXpress	Ulta Chashmaa	4705068	105
1987488401557504	Mahathugbandhan – महाठगबंधन	Mahathugbandhan – महाठगबंधन	4031860	1092
206212622563937	Political X-Ray	Ulta Chashmaa	3903094	60
108923581963430	Nirmamata	Nirmamata	3892330	1023
1400615623488784	BJP Odisha	BJP Odisha	3834648	742
113730508499849	Mudde ki Baat – मुद्दे की बात	Mudde Ki Baat	3380826	58
1563310070576778	BJP Andhra Pradesh	BJP Andhra Pradesh	2440155	479
107026039151450	మన మోదీ	manamodi.com	1926026	843
118554107945158	Badlenge Sarkar, Badlenge Bihar	badlengesarkarbadlengebihar.com	1736517	720
162311940465517	BJYM	Bharatiya Janata Party	1563415	335
721713357902229	Mahila Morcha BJP	Bharatiya Janata Party	1429489	567
100198806388306	The Nation Vibes	The Nation Vibes	1307936	717
180161138515248	କେତେଦିନ ସହିବା? / Ketedina Sahibaa?	କେତେଦିନ ସହିବା? / Ketedina Sahibaa?	1248691	660
1464414077034071	BJP ST Morcha	Bharatiya Janata Party	1112712	336
104136199047870	Bharat Todo Gang – भारत तोड़ो गैंग	Bharat Todo Gang – भारत तोड़ो गैंग	1096140	1104
180005665207295	Kannada Sangamam – ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಂಗಮ	Ulta Chashmaa	1080219	58
179670408573941	Tamilakam – தமிழகம்	Ulta Chashmaa	1035065	60
262572220917547	भाजपा राष्ट्रीय अनुसूचित जाति मोर्चा – BJP SC Morcha	Bharatiya Janata Party	617101	375
1542743585786974	Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar – Gujarat	Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar – Gujarat	613048	54
114233898263244	Indian Compass Videos	theindiancompass.com	578166	824
283350415665978	Ek Akela Sab Par Bhari	Ek Akela Sab Par Bhari	545109	251
244801258708580	Telangana Central – తెలంగాణ సెంట్రల్	Ulta Chashmaa	496639	8
239720143296109	BJP OBC Morcha	Bharatiya Janata Party	491213	42
107848055262209	Paltu Paltan – पलटू पलटन	Paltu Paltan – पलटू पलटन	482186	290
115529624796206	Hokage Modi Sama	Hokage Modi Sama	473771	296
249708958217278	Malabar Central – മലബാർ സെൻട്രൽ	Ulta Chashmaa	461084	36
247944825069932	Amaar Sonar Bangla – অমর সোনার বাংলা	Ulta Chashmaa	439288	15
		Total	158583832	17130

Congress:

The Congress party has spent Rs. 4,298,268 on 614 advertisements.

Page ID	Page name	Disclaimer	Amount spent (INR)	Number of ads
294493857651676	Rahul Gandhi	Indian National Congress	3585788	158
351616078284404	Indian National Congress	Indian National Congress	712480	456
		Total	4298268	614

TMC:

The Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, has spent Rs. 6,373,293 on 423 advertisements.

Page ID	Page name	Disclaimer	Amount spent (INR)	Number of ads
218904931482352	All India Trinamool Congress	All India Trinamool Congress	4758354	310
108777655527686	Trinamoole Nabo Jowar	Trinamoole Nabo Jowar	1614939	113
		Total	6373293	423

YSRCP:

The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party led by Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has spent Rs. 16,999,080 on 566 advertisements.

Page ID	Page name	Disclaimer	Amount spent (INR)	Number of ads
104211439033799	Jagane Kavali	Jagane Kavali	4185707	200
111986798594822	Jagananna Suraksha	Jagane Kavali	4017803	95
327120054405346	Jagananna ki Thoduga	Jagan Anna ki Thoduga	3087881	139
213811765155120	Memu Siddham Maa Booth Siddham	Jaganna Tho Siddham	1857632	24
175139949013002	Jagan: The Juggernaut	Team Jagananna	1319338	40
229008700302978	Praja Theerpu	Jagananna Tho Siddham	736761	17
105209472211637	Voice of Andhra	Voice of Andhra	696989	18
204792022725505	Memantha Siddham	Jaganannatho Siddham	657413	21
205049862700772	Jagananna Kosam Siddham	Jagananna Tho Siddham	439556	12
		Total	16999080	566

Government Advertisements:

During these 90 days, the central government and various state governments collectively spent Rs. 46,140,328 on 1,223 advertisements.

Page ID	Page name	Disclaimer	Amount spent (INR)	Number of ads
192856493908290	Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha	Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha	18670367	357
775974615850063	MyGovIndia	MyGovIndia	14202725	67
418662318473847	Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Odisha	Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Odisha	3255261	35
138622632667217	Laxmi/ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମୀ	Laxmi/ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମୀ	2196960	19
114035533329593	Mo Sarkar 5T	MoSarkar 5T	1603172	37
106966414891832	DIPR TN	DIPR TN	1275814	93
220329711159719	Other Backward Bahujan Welfare Department, Maharashtra	Olio Global AdTech	787092	172
319693278479184	Finance Department, Government of Odisha	Finance Department, Government of Odisha	781383	20
179243868596011	ନୂଆ-ଓ	ନୂଆ-ଓ	742899	157
1195267553857448	Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department, Government of Odisha	Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department, Government of Odisha	684839	7
113373710385095	कृषी विभाग महाराष्ट्र शासन	कृषी विभाग महाराष्ट्र शासन	511328	78
269612676227090	सामान्य प्रशासन विभाग – सामाजिक विकास समन्वय, महाराष्ट्र शासन	Olio Global AdTech	504179	24
314832518976952	Fisheries & ARD Department	Fisheries & ARD Department	478860	16
102379519139483	जल जीवन मिशन महाराष्ट्र	जल जीवन मिशन महाराष्ट्र	445449	141
		Total	46140328	1223

Proxy Pages:

Apart from official pages of political parties, a whole bunch of controversial proxy and meme pages have emerged as key players as far as running divisive advertisements is concerned. These pages not only target opposition parties but often amplify contentious narratives. By concealing their true identities, they work on behalf of political parties and publish ads that cannot be run through official channels. These advertisements often use humour, satire, and sarcasm to mock opposition parties and their leaders, and frequently allude to communal angles.

Several pages in this list attack the Opposition and bolster the BJP’s propaganda, with higher expenditures on advertisements compared to BJP’s official pages. Alt News had previously exposed some of these pages in an investigation in April 2023, revealing their direct connections with the BJP.

Page ID	Page name	Disclaimer	Amount spent (INR)	Number of ads
174425559078659	Ulta Chashma – उल्टा चस्मा	Ulta Chashmaa	20333950	428
574079826086251	Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar	phirekbaarmodisarkar.com	18714772	2498
192548643939288	MemeXpress	Memes Xpress	6835584	183
206212622563937	Political X-Ray	Political X Ray	6107215	161
192548643939288	MemeXpress	Ulta Chashmaa	4705068	105
1987488401557500	Mahathugbandhan – महाठगबंधन	Mahathugbandhan – महाठगबंधन	4031860	1092
206212622563937	Political X-Ray	Ulta Chashmaa	3903094	60
108923581963430	Nirmamata	Nirmamata	3892330	1023
113730508499849	Mudde ki Baat – मुद्दे की बात	Mudde Ki Baat	3380826	58
107026039151450	మన మోదీ	manamodi.com	1926026	843
118554107945158	Badlenge Sarkar, Badlenge Bihar	badlengesarkarbadlengebihar.com	1736517	720
100198806388306	The Nation Vibes	The Nation Vibes	1307936	717
104136199047870	Bharat Todo Gang – भारत तोड़ो गैंग	Bharat Todo Gang – भारत तोड़ो गैंग	1096140	1104
180005665207295	Kannada Sangamam – ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಂಗಮ	Ulta Chashmaa	1080219	58
179670408573941	Tamilakam – தமிழகம்	Ulta Chashmaa	1035065	60
1542743585786970	Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar – Gujarat	Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar – Gujarat	613048	54
114233898263244	Indian Compass Videos	theindiancompass.com	578166	824
283350415665978	Ek Akela Sab Par Bhari	Ek Akela Sab Par Bhari	545109	251
244801258708580	Telangana Central – తెలంగాణ సెంట్రల్	Ulta Chashmaa	496639	8
107848055262209	Paltu Paltan – पलटू पलटन	Paltu Paltan – पलटू पलटन	482186	290
115529624796206	Hokage Modi Sama	Hokage Modi Sama	473771	296
249708958217278	Malabar Central – മലബാർ സെൻട്രൽ	Ulta Chashmaa	461084	36
247944825069932	Amaar Sonar Bangla – অমর সোনার বাংলা	Ulta Chashmaa	439288	15
		Total	84175893	10884

Sensitive Advertisements:

Some advertisements run by these pages are so inflammatory and sensitive that political parties refrain from posting them on their official pages. Advertisements run through proxy pages often touch upon divisive issues and exploit prejudices. Alt News reported last month about a political advertisement depicting live murder, which had been viewed more than 30 million times. Upon informing Meta, they acknowledged the violation of their standards and took action against it.

Several advertisements have displayed violence and targeted political adversaries. Examples of some such advertisements are provided below. Meta took action against many of these advertisements later, although by then they had already garnered lakhs of views collectively.

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Pages with similar disclaimers:

Here we have listed pages with identical disclaimers. The disclaimer on all of these pages reads “Ulta Chashmaa.” Upon checking the details of these disclaimers, it is evident that these pages, which target the Opposition and propagate BJP’s agenda, are operated by the same admin. All these pages are included in the list of BJP’s proxy pages. One such page is ‘सीधा चश्मा’ (Straight Glasses), which was created on March 5 and has spent over Rs. 15 Lakh on advertisements so far.

The disclaimer of this page also contains details associated with ‘उल्टा चश्मा’ (Ulta Chashma), meaning this page is also a part of BJP’s proxy pages. One page, ‘Sonar Bangla – সোনার বাংলা,’ has now been deleted. Between March 5 and 7, this page spent Rs. 3,27,000 running nine advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. However, it is noteworthy that when the data of this page is searched in the Meta Ad Library according to date range, only four advertisements are shown. However, upon further inspection, it is revealed that nine advertisements were indeed run by this page. This raises questions about the data released by Meta.

 

Page name	Disclaimer
Ulta Chashma – उल्टा चस्मा	Ulta Chashmaa
Political X-Ray	Ulta Chashmaa
MemeXpress	Ulta Chashmaa
Tamilakam – தமிழகம்	Ulta Chashmaa
Sidha Chashma – सीधा चश्मा	Sidha Chashma – सीधा चश्मा
Amaar Sonar Bangla – অমর সোনার বাংলা	Ulta Chashmaa
Kannada Sangamam – ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಂಗಮ	Ulta Chashmaa
Telangana Central – తెలంగాణ సెంట్రల్	Ulta Chashmaa
Malabar Central – മലബാർ സെൻട്രൽ	Ulta Chashmaa
Sonar Bangla – সোনার বাংলা (This Page has been deleted.)	Ulta Chashmaa

 

Political parties are spending large sums on online advertisements, including via proxy pages. This also raises the question of whether parties maintain accounts for advertisements run through proxy pages. This expenditure raises questions about electoral transparency. As the general elections in India draw closer, all parties are increasingly focusing on digital advertisements, with the role of proxy pages also gaining prominence. The lack of transparency and accountability regarding expenditure and content of political advertisements on social media will continue to be a subject of scrutiny in the near future.