Political ads on FB to carry labels offering advertiser’s information

New Delhi, Feb. 7: Facebook on Thursday said political advertisements on its platform will carry a “disclaimer” offering details about those responsible for running the ad as the social media giant looks to bring transparency into political ads ahead of elections in India.

“Starting today ( Thursday), people will begin to see political ads with ‘ Published by’ or ‘ Paid for by’ disclaimers specified by advertisers. This will give people more information about who is responsible for the ads they see,” Shivnath Thukral, Public Policy Director, India and South Asia at Facebook said.

People will also be able to access a “searchable ad library” to find out more about advertisements related to politics, including range of impressions, spends and demographics of who viewed the ad.

This month, Facebook will also start showing the primary country location of the people who manage pages running or paying for political ads in India.

The social media giant said the enforcement of the new features and the political ads policy begins February 21, and from then only advertisers who have completed authorisations and made stipulated disclosures will be allowed to run political ads in India.

With ensuing general elections, the Indian government had warned social media platforms of strong action if any attempt was made to influence the country’s electoral process through undesirable means.

The government is also proposing to amend IT rules, wherein social media, online platforms and messaging apps will be made more accountable.