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Tag: Political ads

  • Facebook’s expanded transparency features will roll out in Q2 2020

    Facebook’s expanded transparency features will roll out in Q2 2020

    MUMBAI: Facebook is updating its Ad Library to increase the level of transparency for political ads and provide users with more control over the ads they see. The platform will be adding a feature that will help to view audience size in the ad library, will provide better ad library search and filtering, control over and see fewer political ads.

    The Ad Library is a unique tool to shine a light on political and social issue ads — a public archive that allows people to see all the ads politicians and campaigns are running on Facebook and Instagram and those that have run in the past. “This is an important step in making political ads more transparent and advertisers more accountable: the public can see every ad served to anyone in an easily searchable database,” said Facebook.

    Facebook launched the Ad Library in May 2018 and over the past several months they have spoken to dozens of political campaigns, activists, NGOs, nonprofits and volunteers about its policies for political ads. “Two themes we heard was that first, people want more transparency over who is using ads to try to influence voters and second, they want more control over the ads they see,” said Facebook.

    The platform further announced, “The expanded transparency features will roll out in the first quarter of 2020 and will apply in all countries where we facilitate “Paid for by” disclaimers on ads. We plan to deploy the political ads control starting in the US early this summer, eventually expanding this preference to more locations.”

    It also said, “There has been much debate in recent months about political advertising online and the different approaches that companies have chosen to take. While Twitter has chosen to block political ads and Google has chosen to limit the targeting of political ads, we are choosing to expand transparency and give more controls to people when it comes to political ads.”

    “We don’t think decisions about political ads should be made by private companies, which is why we are arguing for regulation that would apply across the industry. The Honest Ads Act is a good example — legislation that we endorse and many parts of which we’ve already implemented — and we are engaging with policy makers in the European Union and elsewhere to press the case for regulation too. Frankly, we believe the sooner Facebook and other companies are subject to democratically accountable rules on this the better,” said Facebook.

  • TV sees 53% dip in political ad insertions as compared to 2014: TAM AdEx

    TV sees 53% dip in political ad insertions as compared to 2014: TAM AdEx

    MUMBAI: For almost three decades, TV has remained the preferred choice for political parties to advertise during the poll seasons, given its mass outreach.

    However, despite leading the charts in terms of ad insertions made on any traditional medium, TV has seen an indexed dip of 83 per cent in ad insertions made during the period of 1 January to 16 March 2019 as compared to the same period during 2014 polls.

    The findings have been shared by TAM AdEx in its latest stats of political ad insertions made this year. While TV accounted for the highest ad insertions during the 5th and the 11th week of 2019 as compared to radio and print, it fared relatively lower otherwise.

    Interestingly, radio showed a striking growth as a medium since 2014, as it noted a 14 per cent growth in ad insertions. Like TV, print also saw a dip in ad insertions this year, showing an indexed sink of 9 per cent.

    Leading the bill in the political advertisers list is, unsurprisingly, the ruling party BJP holding a 53 per cent share in the combined ad insertions across TV, print, and radio. Following it is the rival Congress, but with a considerably lower share of 14 per cent.

    Other parties in the list are Telugu Desam (6 per cent), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (3 per cent), and AIADMK (3 per cent).

    The general election is scheduled to be held in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019. The counting of the votes and declaration of the results will happen on 23 May.

  • SC Panel announces guidelines for govt ads

    SC Panel announces guidelines for govt ads

    NEW DELHI: A Supreme Court-appointed high- powered committee recently announced guidelines on government advertisements in order to prevent misuse of public funds for furthering political motives.

     

    The guidelines recommend that names and pictures of political parties and their office bearers should be not mentioned in government advertisements.

     

    The report, submitted to the apex court, also emphasises that only pictures and names of the President, the Prime Minister, Governor and Chief Ministers be published to ‘keep politics away from such ads’.

     

    The guidelines have been framed by a three-member committee headed by eminent academician Professor NR Madhava Menon to regulate expenditure and contents of such advertisements paid out of tax payers’ money. The committee also comprises of former secretary general of Lok Sabha TK Viswanathan and solicitor general Ranjit Kumar. The apex court had decided to frame these guidelines on 23 April to prevent the misuse of public money.

     

    The apex court bench headed by chief justice P Sathasivam with justice Ranjan Gogoi and N V Ramana had said that the existing guidelines of the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) do not cover such advertisements. There was therefore a need for substantive guidelines to be issued by the Court until the legislature enacts a law in this regard.

     

    The report also added that the committee has included suggestions of the Election Commission about severe restrictions on such advertisements six months prior to elections.

     

    It further endorsed that a deadline should be fixed for prohibiting their publication and the poll panel should be authorised for the purpose.

     

    The report recommended that the central and state governments must decide in advance on a list of personalities whose birth or death anniversaries will be marked with ads.

     

    The government must then specify which Ministry should release the ad to avoid different departments and state-run companies from paying tribute to the same leader with a multitude of ads. “There should be a single advertisement only,” the Committee said.

     

    The Bench had also noted that the Directorate of Advertisement and Visual Publicity (DAVP) guidelines do not lay down any criteria for the advertisements to qualify for public purpose as opposed to partisan ends and political mileage, adding that there is a need to distinguish between the advertisements that are part of government messaging and daily business and advertisements that are politically motivated.

     

    The Government in its counter affidavit claimed that 60 per cent of the advertisements released by the DAVP on behalf of various ministries/departments/public sector undertakings of the Central Government relate to classified or display/classified category such as UPSC/SSC or recruitment, tender and public notices, etc. The respondents asserted that government advertisements sometime carry messages from national leaders, ministers and dignitaries accompanied with their photographs.

     

    However, Government counsel K Radhakrishnan said the purpose of such advertisements is not to give personal publicity to the leaders or to the political parties they belong to rather the objective is to let the people know and have authentic information about the progress of the programmes/performance of the government they elected and form informed opinions, which is one of the fundamental rights of the citizens in our democracy as enshrined in the constitution.

  • American SC upholds ban of political ads on public radio and television

    American SC upholds ban of political ads on public radio and television

    NEW DELHI : While lawyers dismantle many restrictions on political money, the rules affecting Morning Edition and Downton Abbey still stand tall. A federal court in San Francisco says public radio and TV stations cannot carry paid political ads.

     

    The 8-3 decision Monday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling last April by a smaller panel of the court. NPR and PBS both joined the case as friends of the court.

     

    The court upheld the decades-old bar against political ads on public broadcasting stations, even as other restrictions have vanished over the years. One long-gone rule held that funders could only be listed by name.

     

    The case just decided – Minority Television Project vs. FCC – began as a bid to take any commercial advertising. Among the arguments rejected by the appeals court, the TV station invoked the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling of 2010, which allowed corporations to spend freely advocating for or against candidates..

     

    Two dissenting judges argued that the station did not get a fair shake because “judges like public radio and television, while pretty much nobody likes commercials.”