Political Advertisements on Social Media in the Popularity Competition for the 2024 Presidential Election

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Iklan Politik di Media Sosial Ajang Adu Popularitas Pilpres 2024

KOMPAS/CYPRIANUS ANTO SAPTOWALYONO

Three presidential candidates who will run in the 2024 Presidential Election, Prabowo Subianto, Anies Baswedan, and Ganjar Pranowo (from left to right), gave statements to the media at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Monday (30/10/2023).

Advertising on social media is one way to attract potential voters in the 2024 Presidential Election. The large potential of votes stored in social media spaces makes this channel a means of gaining popularity.

The advancement of communication technology has made the digital ecosystem more accessible to the public. Many activities within communities involve the use of digital technology products, including social media.

It is not surprising that currently social media (social media) channels have become a means of introducing political figures. This strategy is also to increase the popularity of political figures through advertisements on social media. There are at least three social media channels that are the main references for political shopping, namely Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok.

This is because these three channels have the largest user base in Indonesia. Data from Digital 2023 Indonesia compiled by We Are Social shows that Instagram has reached 184.2 million users, Facebook has 178.5 million users, and Tiktok has 150.8 million users. Of these three platforms, Instagram and Facebook are owned by Meta Platforms.

Since August 2020, Meta has been publishing the advertising spending figures related to social, election, and political topics. These ad figures are displayed on Instagram and Facebook. This data represents Meta's commitment to transparency to the public regarding political activities.

Also read: Prabowo and Golkar's High Political Advertising Spending on Social Media

KOMPAS

Political Advertisements of Prabowo and Golkar on Social Media the Largest Jakarta - The political advertisement of Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto and the Golkar Party on social media is the largest compared to other political parties. This is according to a survey conducted by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII). APJII Chairman Jamalul Izza stated that Prabowo's online campaign team has been very active in utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to reach potential voters. Meanwhile, Golkar Party's social media campaign has also been quite active in the past month. "The use of social media for political campaigns has become a new trend in Indonesia, where political campaigns on social media have even surpassed traditional media channels such as television and newspapers," said Jamalul. The survey also revealed that the most frequently banned keyword on social media was the name of the United Nations (PBB), followed by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP). "The banned words or keywords are those that have specific meanings in Indonesian, and therefore should not be translated. As translators, it is important that we understand the context and rules surrounding the words to produce accurate translations," stated a spokesperson for the media agency handling the translations.

From this data, it can be traced how much advertising spending is spent on presidential candidates, political parties, NGOs, mass media and public institutions. From August 2020 to October 24 2023, the recorded value of political advertisements reached IDR 70.95 billion with a total of 272,010 advertisements broadcast.

The advertisement came from around 19,000 accounts or advertiser identities. By sorting them into groups based on the three potential presidential candidates and the affiliated accounts of each candidate, details of the ad spending of the three candidates were obtained.

Prabowo's advertising spending

Referring to data from Meta Platform's Ad Library in the last three months (August 2023-October 2023), the valuation of Prabowo's advertising spending ranked first. The following positions were followed by Ganjar and Anies.

The transaction value of advertising spending related to Prabowo reached IDR 8.67 billion. Of that amount, the Indonesia Adil Makmur account expended IDR 6.2 billion. This means that more than 70% of Prabowo's advertising costs were recorded under only one account. When examining the expenditures from August to October 2023, the advertising funds flowing from the Indonesia Adil Makmur account averaged around IDR 500 million per month.

The next advertisement account with a relatively high value is the Bakti untuk Rakyat account. The account with the hashtag #TemanBakti features a description as part of the Prabowo supporter institution.

Also read: High Political Costs Trigger Corruption

Advertising expenditures for Bakti untuk Rakyat in August-September 2023 amounted to around Rp 366 million. This spending then increased to Rp 502 million in October 2023. This indicates that political events related to the declaration and registration of presidential candidates are driving advertising spending. When combined with other advertisers, the average value of advertising related to Prabowo in a month reaches Rp 1 billion.

The advertising financing on social media for Prabowo's camp seems to be concentrated with a huge amount of socialization coming from only two accounts. This is not unrelated to Prabowo's economic capital. Referring to the 2022 report on the wealth of state organizers (LHKPN), Prabowo has assets worth IDR 2 trillion.

Compared to the other two presidential candidates, that is the highest value. Based on the 2022 LHKPN, Ganjar Pranowo has assets worth Rp 15.4 billion, while Anies Rasyid Baswedan is worth Rp 11.2 billion.

Ganjar advertising spending

Unlike Ganjar, the largest proportion of advertising spending comes from volunteer and supporter partnerships. The group operates under the account name Ganjar Nusantara Indonesia. From August 2020 to present, their advertising spending was 1.88 billion Indonesian rupiah. This amount is an accumulation from 168 accounts, where the spending varies, ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions, and including one account which spent 116.7 million rupiah.

In addition to Ganjar Nusantara Indonesia, the next account with the largest advertising budget from Melihat Indonesia was worth Rp. 464.9 million in the last 3 years. Tracing the metadata in Ad Library Meta, Melihat Indonesia is an Instagram and Facebook account created in March 2020.

Reviewed based on monthly advertising expenditure, Ganjar's camp saw a significant increase of 72 percent. The cost of advertising in August 2023 and September 2023 averaged at Rp 330 million, then increased to Rp 570 million in October 2023. Its three main supports came from Ganjar Nusantara Indonesia group, Melihat Indonesia, and GanjarFans.

Also read: When Political Content Wars Are Increasingly Widespread

The advertising character of Ganjar's coalition, which is characterized by collaboration, can be understood as a significant contribution from volunteers and sympathizers. There were 283 accounts that advertised on behalf of Ganjar, with a total cost of 3.6 billion rupiah. Ganjar also became a participant in the 2024 presidential election with the second highest social media advertising expenditure.

Meanwhile, Anies' advertising costs reached IDR 930.5 million on Instagram and Facebook platforms. The number of Anies' ad sponsors is relatively small. Some of the major contributors include Unboxing Anies, which was created in January 2022. As of October 24, 2023, this account has contributed up to IDR 227.5 million. The two other largest contributors are from the accounts Aksi Tanggap Anies (IDR 187.3 million) and Suara Anies (IDR 144.1 million).

Although the advertising expenditure of Anies' camp is considered small, their monthly spending is increasing. The expenditure in August-September 2023 averaged at Rp 212.2 million, while in October it reached Rp 345.7 million.

Level of interaction between presidential candidates

One of the goals of advertising on social media is to reach as wide a netizen as possible on various social media platforms. One indicator of the success of socialization is how high level of interaction (engagement) occurs. The level of interaction on social media can be interpreted as the audience's involvement or interaction with content. The greater the promotional effort for content, the wider its reach and can increase interaction.

Kompas R&D carries out monitoring via Dataxet Sonar in the period 1-30 October 2023 or within a period of one month. In that period, Prabowo Subianto's Instagram account recorded 19.26 million interactions, while his Facebook account recorded 1.76 million interactions.

Next, the personal Instagram account of Ganjar Pranowo received 26.1 million interactions, and there were 865,000 interactions on his Facebook account. Meanwhile, the social media account of Anies Baswedan accumulated 4.39 million interactions on Instagram and 547,000 interactions on Facebook.

Also read: Politics and Elections in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

KOMPAS

The Dynamics of Social Media Posts during PDI-P's Announcement of Ganjar as Presidential Candidate The announcement by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) that Ganjar Pranowo will run for president in the upcoming election has been a hot topic on social media. Various reactions and opinions have been expressed by netizens, including those who support and oppose Ganjar's candidacy. However, the dynamics of social media posts during the announcement were not merely limited to discussions about Ganjar. Netizens also commented on the PDI-P's decision to nominate him, with some criticizing the party's track record and questioning its ability to lead the country. Furthermore, some social media users commented on the political situation in Indonesia, exposing their concerns about the country's current state of affairs and the role of political parties in shaping Indonesia's future. Overall, the announcement of Ganjar's candidacy for the presidency has triggered various discussions and debates on social media about the direction of Indonesia's politics, as well as the potential for change and progress in the country.

From the data, it can be seen that Ganjar's social media account is the most popular. This is evident during crucial moments such as when candidates register with the Election Commission. One of these moments is related to the schedule for the registration of potential presidential and vice presidential candidates falling on October 19-25, 2023.

Interaction on Ganjar's Instagram account on October 18, 2023, one day before registration, peaked at 3.5 million interactions. Meanwhile, on his Facebook account, there were only 325,000 interactions.

Furthermore, Anies' Instagram and Facebook accounts reached their peak point on October 19 2023. At that time, his Instagram reached 1.55 million interactions, and his Facebook account recorded 183,000 interactions. When added, Anies gained engagement 1.73 million interactions.

In the last round, Prabowo and Gibran registered themselves on October 25, 2023. Prabowo's personal account was able to attract attention from 4.37 million netizens on Instagram, and 297,000 netizens on Facebook.

The description of the data indicates that the largest attention of netizens was focused on the moment when the presidential candidate registered to the Election Commission. The certainty of participating in the contest and the figure of the running mate received attention and attention from netizens.

The next interesting aspect is the track record of Ganjar's account, which actually recorded the highest number of interactions in the last month. Despite having a smaller social media advertising budget compared to Prabowo, it turns out that Ganjar's figure still attracts the attention of netizens. This phenomenon also illustrates that netizen interactions have other dimensions beyond advertising spending value.

In the end, the presidential election contest is not just about advertising on social media. The initial exposure through social media ads must be balanced with direct social interactions with the public.

However, it cannot be denied that through developments in technology and social media, candidates can reach a very wide voting potential. On the other hand, contestants can convey their ideas, even political promises, more interactively with their constituents. The hope is that political spaces on social media will continue to be filled with educative content and will not harm national unity. (R&D COMPAS)