Twitter Is Showing Billing Details Of Indian Political Ads

As the Lok Sabha elections are looming in, Indian politicians are turning to social media as a way to gain more support, creating a real war on these virtual platforms.

With the intention to keep all the ad-related matters clear, Twitter created a site called Ads Transparency Center allowing people to search for the advertisers of ads currently on Twitter. That is not all, details of bills for political advertisement will also be revealed. A similar act was made by Facebook just last month. Advertising for political campaigns is limited to Promoted Tweets and In-Stream Video Ads at the moment.

However, the advertisers’ addresses available to the public are just the name of the city and the state.

For the time being, the term “political advertisement” on Twitter is defined as sponsored by Election Commission of India recognized parties, the ones paid for by election’s candidates, and ads with content for or against a party or a candidate as long as the target is identified.

Twitter put up a process that all would-be advertisers must go through in order to have their political advertisement on the social media site. They must submit photos for their profile and the header as well as a website that is in agreement with the party or candidate’s online presence. Information on ways to contact the advertisers should also be listed on a website in their bio.

According to what we know from Facebook’s Ad Archive, the amount of money Indian political parties spent on ads has reached more than Rs 4 crore just for last month. The country’s ruling party, Bharatiya Janata and its supporters account for over half of that sum.

Apart from showing ad spending in India, the Ad Archive also reveals that Facebook is tackling no-disclaimer ads. Digital India, a campaign launched by the government is one of them.