Undetected political ads slip through Meta’s system as Bangladesh heads for elections
As Bangladesh prepares for national elections in February, political parties are electioneering in full swing, including through ads on social media platforms. While running advertisements on social media for political campaigns, especially during election periods, is neither prohibited nor illegal, social media platforms, including Meta, have certain rules that parties must comply with for running political ads. Under Meta’s own policies, any advertisement related to politics must clearly state the name and identity of the sponsor or funder. Failure to do so should theoretically result in automatic detection and removal of the ad. However, a Dismislab investigation has found that Meta cannot always identify such promotional materials and take action, indicating flaws in Meta’s automated detection system.
For this investigation, Dismislab analyzed Meta’s Ad Library from December 7 to 12 and found at least 502 promotional materials that used the names of various political parties or leaders. Of them, Meta failed to classify at least 41 ads as “political, election or social issues” as per its policy. As many as 32 ads directly promoted political parties and their agendas or specific political leaders without the mandatory disclaimer.
In addition to these direct political messaging, this investigation has found at least 42 advertisements selling various commercial products, such as T-shirts, caps, hoodies, and books, using the name or logo of political parties. According to Meta’s policy, it is mandatory to include a disclaimer in such advertisements. Case has been documented where one such ad was removed on grounds of missing disclaimer while another similar ads were still running, again pointing to flaws in Meta’s automated ad detection system.
Political ads beyond detection
In many cases, even when advertisers ran ads under the names of political parties and their electoral symbols, Meta failed to classify them as “political” contrary to its stated policies. As a result, these ads were promoted on the platform as general content, and once the advertising period ended, they disappeared from the Ad Library in accordance with Meta rules. Under Meta policy, general ads disappear from the Ad Library after the advertisement period is over, whereas political ads remain accessible.
For example, one ad was upbeat about the victory of the National Citizen Party (NCP), the newly-formed political party led by the July uprising frontliners, in a Dhaka constituency. The text of the advertisement stated: “Campaigning of N C P is underway in Dhaka 15 constituency. The people’s symbol, the Shapla Koli symbol. From villages to city lanes and bylanes, the Shapla Koli will win this time. Insha’Allah ✊✊ National Citizen Party – NCP.” Despite directly mentioning a party and its electoral symbol in the ad, Meta failed to include this in the political category. As a result, the ad is no longer visible in the Ad Library.
Another ad clearly mentioned Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the party’s candidate and his position in the party: “🗳️ Parliamentary candidate–147 Mymensingh-3 (Gouripur), Ameer – Gouripur Upazila, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.” Review shows Meta treated this as a general ad, and so it is no longer visible in the Ad Library.
A third advertisement was posted from the official page of a senior leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) who will run from Panchagarh-1 constituency. It stated: “The foundation of our policy formulation will be international knowledge from Harvard and Oxford, and experience drawn from the soil of Panchagarh, because in formulating policy for Bangladesh, experience that emerges from the ground must be utilized. Vote for the right leadership to implement correct and effective policies.” In the final line of the ad, it directly advised voters how they should pick their representatives: “Vote for the right leadership.” Under Meta’s policies, explicit political messaging requires disclosure of the funder’s information, but the ad did not do so and yet it passed through Meta’s automated detection system.
Political symbols in commercial products
The investigation has identified at least 42 advertisements that marketed various products, including T-shirts, caps, and hoodies bearing political party logos. Meta regulations require that any product advertisement containing political associations be categorized as a special category. However, the platform did not classify any of these 42 ads as such. Consequently, they were delivered to users simply as regular e-commerce advertisements although their underlying message was political.
Meta does not always fail to identify, flag and take action against such content, however. During the investigation, one such advertisement was removed from the platform. Launched from a page named “Captain Choice,” the ad stated: “💥 30% discount, only Tk 650 per piece!! 🔥 Delivery charges absolutely free on orders of 2 pieces!!” In several images in the ad, the hoodies displayed Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) name, logo, and the slogan seeking votes for “Dhaner Shish” (sheaf of paddy, BNP’s electoral symbol). In the ad details, Meta stated that it took down the advertisement because it did not comply with its policies related to “political, election and social issues.”
However, the platform failed to identify another similar ad from a different page, where the images of hoodies displayed the name and logo of Jubo Dal, BNP’s youth wing. This, once again, demonstrates errors in Meta’s detection system.
Dismislab also documented advertisements seeking to sell books of political parties avoiding Meta’s detection. One ad explicitly stated: “An easy-to-understand, comprehensive presentation of forty important books included in the syllabus of ‘Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’ and ‘Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir.’” The ad, which directly named a political party and its student wing, should have been flagged by Meta’s automated system and placed under the political category. But it was not.
Gap between policy and reality
According to Meta’s own policies, any advertiser seeking to run advertisements related to “social issues, elections or politics” must go through a verification process. Under Meta’s policy, if an ad supports or opposes any political party, political figure, election, or nationally significant social issue, it must include a disclaimer. This disclaimer is required to clearly state who funded the advertisement, including the funder’s name and address.
In case a party logo or slogan is used in an ad, it should be automatically classified as a political advertisement. Meta states, “Ads where the primary purpose of the ad is the sale of a product or promotion of a service might not be considered social issue ads and might not require authorisations and a disclaimer. This doesn’t apply to products or services about or with mentions of politicians, political parties, elections or legislation.” However, in practice, the application of these policies appears to be lax. In particular, this investigation clearly reveals weaknesses in Meta’s system in understanding Bangla-language content and local political contexts.t
Ahead of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election in September, Dismislab found similar inconsistencies in Meta’s political ad detection system. At the time, Md. Pizuar Hossain, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Law at East West University and a PhD researcher at Monash University, Australia, warned: “If replicated in a national election, inconsistent flagging could undermine both the electoral process and public trust in its fairness.”
According to him, candidates whose ads are flagged may face reduced visibility, slower approval times, and additional compliance burdens, while others gain an advantage by bypassing such restrictions. This asymmetry could distort voter access to information, skew campaign reach, and ultimately influence electoral outcomes in a way that is unrelated to voter preference or democratic choice.
“Moreover, if voters perceive that certain candidates or parties are being treated unfairly by a powerful platform like Meta, this could fuel allegations of bias and deepen mistrust in both the electoral system and digital platforms. In Bangladesh’s politically sensitive environment, such perceptions could heighten polarisation and undermine the credibility of the entire election process,” he said.
Weaknesses in Meta’s identification of political advertisements are nothing new. Previously, a study by Digitally Right revealed that before the 2024 National Parliamentary Elections, the platform “flagged” or identified many irrelevant advertisements as political, while failing to identify advertisements from various politicians and parties.
