BJP leads in political advertisement spending on Facebook

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest advertiser on Facebook in India followed by Congress, according to the social media giant’s spending tracker. BJP spent most on advertisements on “social issues, elections, and politics.”

In the last 18 months, the saffron party has spent Rs. 4.61 crore on Facebook advertisements while Congress had spent Rs. 1.84 crore. The report also suggests that four advertisers who are in the top 10 spenders were linked to the BJP and shared the address of the party’s national headquarter in Delhi.

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The four pages are: ‘My First Vote for Modi’ which had spent Rs 1.39 crore, ‘Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat’ which accounted for Rs 2.24 crore of Facebook ad revenue followed by the news and media website Nation With Namo and a page affiliated to BJP leader R K Sinha.

Aam Aadmi Party also featured in the top 10 list having spent Rs 69 Lakh as of August 24.

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Earlier, a Wall Street Journal report had accused the social media giant of turning a blind eye to hate speech propagated by politicians of BJP to protect its commercial interests. Subsequently, a Parliamentary panel on IT had summoned Facebook over the misuse of social media platforms.