Investigative report amagi matung eenna, Facebook ta political advertisement happada BJP gi surrogate advertisers singna khwaidei chaoba amasung ahanba group oikhi. Second dana Congress party gi surrogate advertisers ni. BJP gi na makhoigi “visibility” si double henkhi hairi. Congress na yam thapna second chenkhi.
*KHANG-HANJABA: Masi gi report asi The Reporters’ Collective ki investigative report Part 2 ni. Originally English ta Part mari thokna publish toubani, TFM na Meeteilon da handokpani, Regional Language readership ki damak.
Kumar Sambhav, Nayantara Ranganathan & Shreegireesh Jalihal gi Report
Tha 22 amasung election 10 gi manungda, Facebook na “ghost and surrogate advertisers” mayam bu lotna BJP gi election campaign amasung “visibility” maya thanghankhi. Masi akaknaba period amada yumpham oiraga social media da leiba platforms mayam bu neinaraba matungda fangakpa conclusion ni.
The Reporters’ Collective ki investigation gi matung eenna, masi gi report sida panliba advertisers sing sina masagi identity natrga BJP gi connection lotlaga lupa million kaya Facebook ta Advertising fee thiduna India gi ruling party amasung makhoigi leader sing bu promote toukhi. Masi gi ‘ghost and surrogate advertisers’ singsigi advertisement BJP na officially thadokpa advertisement sing-ga chap mannana miyam na uba fangkhi. Masi na maram oiduna, BJP gi “visibility” si double times hengatkhi. Adubu party asina advertisement singsigi content amasung expenditure decalre toubagi gi responsibility di loudae.
India da base touba non-profit media organisation The Reporters’ Collective (TRC) amadi ad.watch na research project – political advertisements on social media” haiba topic asida study toukhi. Makhoina study toukhiba topic tuda – “advertisers that have spent more than 500,000 rupees ($6,529) on political advertisements on Facebook between February 2019 and November 2020, su yaoyi.
Data singsi karamaina khomkhi haibada Ad Library Application Programming Interface (API), Meta’s ‘transparency’ tool sijinaraga political ads ki data fungkhi. Masigi period sida, parliamentary elections nattana state kaya assembly elections su pangthok-khi. Yaoriba state sing khara di Delhi, Odisha, Bihar, Haryana and Maharashtra singni.
TRC gi research ki matung eenna, BJP amasung party asigi candidate singna Facebook ta advertisement 26,291 hapkhi yamdrabada lupa 104 million ($1.36 million) tingthokaga.
Masigi advertisement singsi mio 1.36 billion henna Facebook ta yengbagi result fung-ee.
Masi ga loinana, yamdrabada 23 ghost and surrogate advertisers na advertisement 34,884 Facebook ta hapkhi lupa 58.3 million ($761,246) thiraha. Masi gi ads sing si BJP promote touraga opposition bu eekaiba pihanba oikhi. Surrogate advertisers sing si kanano haina identity utkhidae aduga party ga leinaba mari su khangkhidae. Advertisement sing si loina punsalaga, Facebook ta 1.31 billion views fangkhi.
Compare tourubada, BJP gi main opposition party oiriba Congress ki di, moi gi ghost and surrogate advertisers na khara peekna advertisement hapkhi. Congress amasung party sigi candidate singna advertisement 30,374 Facebook ta hapkhi yamdrabada lupa 64.4 million ($840,897) pithokaga. Masi gi ads singsi 1.1 billion views fungkhi. Congress ki surrogate advertiser ani khakna (lupa 500,000 ($6,529) henba advertisement singi marakta, moina lupa 2.3 million ($30,032) gi pro-Congress pages singda advertisement 3,130 hapkhi party affiliation haidoktabida. Masi gi advertisement sing si Facebook ta 73.8 million views henna fangkhi. Atoppa Facebook page na lupa 4.95 million rupees ($64,634) tingthoktuna 1,364 ads Modi gi mayokta negative campaigns toukhi. Masi mayam si houkhiba chahi gi West Bengal Assembly elections April da pangthokhiba matam dani. Advertisement sing si Facebook ta 62.4 million views fangkhi.
Congress na matam duda surrogate advertiser yam fangkhidabagi maramdi Facebook na yam chaoba crackdown toukhi masigumba advertisers sing gi mathakta aduga 2019 parliamentary elections gi matam su oikhibana. Matamduda Facebook ki authroty na hai madudi Fecebook na 687 pages amasung accounts loukhokhi. Masi gi ads mayam si identity taktabida Congress ki IT Cell ga su mari leinei haina.
Crackdown duda, Facebook page ama aduga 14 accounts louthokhi. Louthokhiba account amadi pages singdu BJP bu sougatli aduga happiba misingdugi identity di lotli hairi.
TRC gi chahi ama changna touba investigation aduna hairi madudi toukhiba crackdown aduna maram-oiduna Congress na Facebook users singbu influence touba ngamkhidae adubu BJP gi di yamna kan-nakhi. Party sigi surrogate advertiser singna BJP bu support touba adumak chat-thakhi.
Masi hanna su report toukhrabni. Adubu overall scale of surrogate advertising amadi madugi impact ti fajna assess toudri.
Indian law na surrogate political advertising print amasung electronic media da happa yadae hai. Maramdi political parties amasung candidates singna moina thagatliba content du accountable oihanabagidamak, masak khangdaba sources tagi funds laktanaba aduga candidate singi election expenditure mandatory legal limits ki manungda leinabagidamak.
Masi gi report si gi part 1 da haikhibaduna, Election Commission of India (ECI) nadi masigi rule sing si social media da extend toudae gap ama leirae khangna khangna. Facebook na industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) bu lobby toukhi, ECI na election matamda social media platform da akanba regulations thamdanaba. Masi Facebook ki documents leak toukhiba whistle-blower Frances Haugen da gi document tagi khankhi (As showed here).
Facebook ki surrogate advertising singsi BJP kidi yam kannakhi.
Masigi matangda Facebook Meta gi full response sida leirae pabiyu (PDF).
BJP gi chief spokesman Anil Baluni and IT and social media gi head Amit Malviya, TRC gi questions singi reply pipiraktae, hanjin hanjin reminders tharafaobada. ECI su masi gi matangda reply peerakkhide.
BJP’s Surrogate World
America gi election influence tou-e haina chennabadagi, Facebook na policy ama 2018 puthokhee. Masi gi policy si na political advertisement happa sing identity amasung address thigatlaga display tougadabani hairi. Masi gi policy gi matung eenna, advertisers kanagi peisa sijinaraga advertisement happino haina self-declare tougadabani.
Transparency lei hainabagidamak, Facebook na funding disclosures along with the political ads happa houkhi. Adubu masigi mechanism sina advertisers sing si political party or candidate ki campaigning thingba di ngamdae.
Ayamba advertiser singna makhoigi websites ki link pirabasu, URL work toudae. URL yarabasu, basic page amakhatta ownership natraga contact details yaodaba ngakta oi hairi.
TRC na khangba 23 advertisers, BJP bu promote tou-ee aduga makhoi party ga mari leinabadi taaktae. TRC hairi, BJP ga mari leina advertisers 6 trace toukhi. Makhoi singdugi marakta advertisers myfirstvoteformodi.com, Nation with Namo, NationWithNamo.com, Bharat Ke Man ki Baat yao-ee. BJP ga formal association leibani haidae adubu makhoigee Facebook Pages or websites singdu na listed toubada the BJP headquarters in Delhi si makhoigi physical address ni haina Facebook’s Ad platform yaori. Masi panliba advertisers mari sina lupa 32.4 million henna ($423,060), 12,328 pro-BJP ads hapkhi.
“Directors and chief executive of advertiser Bluecraft Digital, which spent 1.33 million rupees ($17,366) on pro-BJP ads, had worked for the BJP in the past, while advertiser Sreenivasan Sreekkuttan, who spent 1.39 million rupees ($18,150) on pro-BJP ads, also advertises on the Facebook page of right-wing social-media commentator Abhinav Khare who in the past worked as the CEO at the Asianet News Network, whose parent company Jupiter Capital is founded by BJP member of parliament Rajeev Chandrashekhar”, hairi TRC na.
Ad Library dei fungba details ki matung eenna, advertiser 17 thigatpada makhoigi website sing function toudaba aduga touragana pro-BJP conent singbu news and analysis manhanlaga thagatpa oina lei. Makhoigi ownership details di khangba ngamdae.
Part 1 gi report ta su pankhibaduni, Reliance na fund touba media firm amana publish toukhiba advertisement singdu “disguised unverified or distorted information” bu news content manhanlaga BJP bu promote toukhi amadi Prime Minister Narendra Modi sougatpa da nattana opposition singbu mingchat thihankhi. Company aduna Lupa 5.57 million dei henna ($72,730) ads ta peisa thingthokhi.
TRC na hairi, ‘The-Pulse,’ kouba portal amana masabu “media/news company” ni hairaga Facebook advertisement da lupa 905,000 ($11,817) thingthokaga BJP amasung Modi bu ‘glorified’ toukhi. Masiga loinana, marak marakta voter singda vote thadabiyu haina call toukhi. Facebook page oigera website oigera, The Pulse na mapu amsung funds ki matangda disclose touba leitae.
Atoppa Facebook page Distoy Farak Shivshahi Parat (which translates from Marathi to ‘The difference is visible, Shivaji’s rule is back’) na BJP gi support ta 1,748 ads hapkhi Maharashtra state elections 2019 gi matamda. Advertiser amana lupa 2.24 million ($29,249) hapkhi. Masigi advertiser si DFSP 2019 kouyee (moigi page tudi short form oiba manli). Disclosure da yaoba website shivshahiparat.com si listed ti oi adubu hangba yadae.
Pro-BJP advertisers gi listed funders thibada makhoi makhoi gi website tu dead or inactive websites oi adubu Ads Archive data dadi moigi Facebook page singsae “active” oi hairi. Masida yaorisi GharGharRaghubar.com (spent 954,000 rupees ($12,457) during Jharkhand elections), mainhoondilli.com and Paltuaadmiparty.com (spent 759,000 rupees ($9,911) and 1.05 million rupees ($13,710), respectively, during Delhi elections), phirekbaarimaandarsarkar.com (spent 2.8 million rupees ($36,561) in Haryana elections) and aghadibighadi.com (spent 1.5 million rupees ($19,586) in Maharashtra elections).
TRC na sigi websites singsigi marakta khara “archived pages” fangkhi. Haibadi website khara di houkhiba matam da active adum oiramba jaatni.
Atoppa pro-BJP advertisers singdi, modipara.com (spent 717,000 rupees ($9,362)), 2020 Modi Sang Nitish (spent 705,000 rupees ($9,206)), nirmamata.com (1.8 million rupees ($23,503)), thefrustratedbengali.com (1.15 million rupees ($15,016)), Rashtriya Jungle Dal (1.07 million rupees ($13,971)), and Bhak Budbak ( 685,000 rupees ($8,944)). Adubu makhoi singsae fund touba individual natraga organisations gi details di fangdae.
Facebook nadi hairi, karigumba advertiser singsigi details – factually represent touba amadi affiliation utpa gi mathou toudradi, makhoigi ads singsae disable touba natraga louthokpagi action loukhatkani haina. Adubu mathakta pankhriba advertiser singsigi marakta, Facebook na disable toukhiba ads natraga page kharakhattani. Adusu masi gi ads sing do hapkhraba matungda, My First Vote for Modi, Bharat Ke Man ki Baat, Distoy Farak Shivshahi Parat and Rashtriya Jungle Dal pages singda happa ads disable toudringeida, masi gi ads singsae 161.9 million, 145.7 million, 63.2 million and 15.3 million views mathang manao naina fangkhi.
Advertiser ani Congress pu promote toukhi affiliation disclose toudabida. Makhoi sing adudi Karan Gupta, (spent 1.48 million rupees ($19,325) on 1,798 advertisements) aduga Nishant M Solanki (spent 800,000 rupees ($10,446) on 1,332 advertisements).
Atoppa page Khotikarok Modi na lupa 4.9 million ($63,981) tingaga 1,364 ads Modi gi mayokta negative campaigns toukhi. Masi West Bengal elections ki matamdani. Page asi 62 million views henna fangkhi. Aduga tndeservesbetter.in na lupa 2.9 million ($37,867) thingduna 839 ads Tamil Nadu da campaign toukhi. 53.5 million views henna fangkhi.
Panliba advertisers singsi lupa 500,000 rupees ($6,529) henna tingthokpa kanguni. Apikpa amount tingba surrogate advertisers su lei adubu asengba ‘scale of surrogate advertising’ singsi fajna khngba ngamloi – Facebook amadi Election Commission na fajana advertisement singsi examine touraga advertisers sing si identify toudrifaoba.
Karam haina data mayam si fungkhibano amasung analyse toukhibano
Reporters Collective and ad.watch na Ad Library Application Programming Interface (API), Facebook na advertisers singda piba data sijinnei aduga researchers amadi market analysts ki matengna political advertisement gi archive data singsi analyse toukhi.
TRC ahanbada November 18, 2020 faobada hapkhiba political advertisement sing download toukhi. Punna 536,070 political ads hapkhi masigi tatamsida.
Pulabna 8,359 advertisers (individuals and organisations) na lupa 613.73 million ($8.01 million) tingduna 454,297 political ads hapkhi. Lemhouba advertisement singsi source of fund taktabida publish toukhi. Facebook nadi hairi asigumba ads singsi moi adum louthok-ee.
Analysis ki damak, TRC and ad.watch na advertisers lupa 500,000 ($6,529) dagi henna happa kangu khangatli. Khangatpa advertiser singsi punna 145 sui. Matamduda, moi na tingba peisa si punna ahum thokpani ani di political ads ta thadei. Masidagi, TRC amasung ad.watch na political party amasung candidate ka mari leinaba group amadi leinadaba group ani thokna khaidokee. Anisuba category sigi manungda, TRC and ad.watch na makhoigi links thidokpasu ngamkhi.
Masigi investigative report sidagi khngba ngamkhibadi, Facebook ta political advertisement happada BJP gi surrogate advertisers singna khwaidei chaoba amasung ahanba group oikhi. Anisuba dana, Congress party gi surrogate advertisers ni. BJP gi na makhoigi “visibility” si double henkhi hairi. Congress na thapna second chenkhi.
WAIT FOR PART 3: BJP’s benefits are not limited to just Facebook allowing surrogate advertising for it. Even Facebook’s algorithm works to undercut political competition in favour of BJP. Part 3 of the series will reveal.
Kumar Sambhav and Shreegireesh Jalihal are members of The Reporters’ Collective (www.reporters-collective.in). Nayantara Ranganathan is a researcher with ad.watch (www.ad.watch) This story was originally published in English by Al Jazeera (www.aljazeera.com)