At least $10,707 has been spent on political advertising on the Meta platform in just 90 days ahead of the upcoming House of Representatives elections. Political parties, candidates, supporters, and various organizations have been consistently increasing their spending on content related to social issues, elections, or politics.

This amount is calculated by adding up the ad spend of all parties, candidates, support groups and organizations shown in Meta's ad library, based on the average of the lowest possible scores. Since Meta only shows the range of 898 ads as being 'less than $1,000', even if each such ad is added up at $1, the total spend appears to be over $10,000. This means that the actual amount of ad spend could be even higher. 

When calculated according to the maximum range, it appears that the spend on Facebook and Instagram during this period could reach $100,000. Meta does not allow ads to be posted for $1. Digital advertisers have the experience that even in a market like Nepal, the minimum daily spend is usually around $3 to $5. When examining this spending in the past 90 days, the 'Gatisheel Loktantrik Party' has posted 45 ads, paying $1,474 for 45 ads. 

The Rastriya Parivartan Party, which merged with the Ujjwal Nepal Party, has spent $1,270 and the official page of Ujjwal Nepal has spent $829. As for individual candidates, Shri Gurung has spent $592 and Nainsingh Mahar $366, bringing the election campaign to mobile screens. Dilip Bagdiya has spent $364 and Ajay Kranti's supporters have spent $238. 

According to Meta, which still displays data based on the zonal structure, Bagmati Zone has become the main center of digital advertising in this election advertising. It seems that political advertisements worth about $6,000 have been ordered from here. After Bagmati, $1,347 has been spent in Koshi Zone, $1,277 in Narayani Zone, $1,333 in Gandaki, and $1,05 in Mechi. In contrast, advertising spending is very low in Mahakali, Dhaulagiri, and Karnali. This seems to indicate that digital election campaigning is concentrated in urban areas and geographies with high internet access. 

In this digital campaign, follower pages opened in the names of some candidates are showing more activity than official pages. While the Election Commission is saying that it will tighten social media advertising, advertising is being done from abroad and through proxy accounts without an official disclaimer. 

Another aspect that has not been discussed during the election digital campaign is the lack of transparency of expenses on other platforms. Like Meta, other platforms do not show expenses on political or other digital campaigns. Due to this, the current digital advertising discussion does not include the blue ticks on the X platform, advertisements on YouTube, and expenses on campaigns through influencers on various platforms that increase in number during elections. 

Among the leaders and political activists of various parties who have verified accounts on X, the account verification expenses of many of them are borne by supporters or associates living abroad. Options for verification above 8 US dollars per month are available. Similarly, some pages and accounts in Nepal have been buying blue ticks on Facebook and Instagram by paying a fee of $13 to $15 per month. 

These platforms do not provide transparent information about those who purchase verification from X and Meta in this way. On the other hand, non-political ads related to candidates or their updates are not included in Meta's ad library. Currently, options such as buying video views, increasing engagement (likes, shares, comments), and buying followers are available on Meta, and such expenses are also not visible in Meta's ad library. 

Although some people are seen doing political campaigns on X, X's ads are not considered very effective. Similarly, there has been a significant increase in both political and non-political campaigns using various Alphabet platforms such as YouTube, AdSense, and Google Search. Therefore, the number appearing in Meta's ad library can be said to be only a small part of the spending on political digital advertising and campaigns in Nepal.

 181 content creators to be taken action

The Election Commission has taken action against 181 content producers/transmitters for producing and transmitting harmful information in violation of the election code of conduct. The Commission has identified the transmitters of false and harmful information and has written to the Cyber ​​Bureau of the Nepal Police for action as per the Electronic Transactions Act, 2063. 

Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai informed that the details of 181 producers/transmitters have been sent to the Cyber ​​Bureau for action. The Commission has written to the Telecommunications Authority for action against 7 content producers. 

Spokesperson Bhattarai said that 40 complaints of acts against the code of conduct by the mass media have been sent to the Press Council. ‘Mainstream media are seen to be committed to following the code of conduct. Violations have been found only in exceptional cases. The efforts of mainstream media such as fact-checking to provide accurate information are commendable,' he said, 'Mainstream media has stopped misinformation by disseminating accurate information.'

Bhattarai said that content creators are spreading sensational information in the greed of making money, and the commission is trying to control it. 'It has been seen that some content producers and influencers have violated the code of conduct to increase their popularity and income,' he said, 'Monitoring has been increased on such products.' 

The commission has also stated that the Ethics Promotion Unit under the Information Communication Center has been activated to monitor and bring under the purview of the law those who spread false, misleading and hateful information and expressions in violation of the election code of conduct. The Central Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee has received 34 complaints of violation of the code of conduct by candidates, political parties or various bodies. The commission has received responses to 24 of the clarifications sought from all of them. Spokesperson Bhattarai informed that the investigation of complaints received in the district will be done at the district level.