Ranchi- A groundbreaking investigation by leading civil rights organizations has exposed how Meta platforms have become a breeding ground for political disinformation in India, with BJP spending over Rs 2.25 crore in just three months on political advertisements in Jharkhand. The report, released recently, uncovers a sophisticated network of shadow advertisers targeting Adivasi Chief Minister Hemant Soren while violating electoral laws and platform policies. The report has been jointly produced by Dalit Solidarity Forum, Hindus for Human Rights, India Civil Watch International, Indian American Muslim Council and Tech Justice Law Project.

Massive Shadow Network Rivals Official Spending

The investigation reveals a startling pattern of political advertising where BJP's shadow network nearly matches its official spending. While BJP's official Jharkhand page spent Rs 97.09 lakh through 3,080 ads garnering 10 crore impressions, researchers identified at least 87 shadow pages linked to BJP narratives that spent Rs 81.03 lakh. This shadow network achieved nearly quadruple the impressions compared to official BJP advertisements, suggesting Meta's algorithms may be preferentially promoting these unofficial channels.

The report severely criticizes Meta's role in this digital manipulation. Despite claiming strict verification processes for political advertisers, the platform accepted junk contact information and unverifiable addresses from shadow advertisers. More concerning is Meta's pricing structure – the investigation found that one rupee spent by shadow networks reached four times as many people as one rupee spent by official BJP accounts, raising questions about Meta's algorithmic promotion of divisive content.

Systematic Targeting of Adivasi Identity

The report documents a coordinated campaign targeting Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Adivasi identity and his stance on religious freedom. Following Soren's arrest on allegedly politically motivated corruption charges, the shadow network intensified its attacks. Advertisements featuring dehumanizing images of Soren with horns appeared across multiple pages, particularly during Diwali, demonstrating a systematic attempt to undermine Adivasi leadership.

The report says, short-form animated videos were found containing communally divisive content where men dressed in green kurtas with caps on their head (signifying Muslims) are carrying swords running after a man dressed in orange wearing the traditional ‘tikka’ on his forehead (signifying a Hindu) , who is later joined by other men dressed similarly to face the group of sword-carrying Muslim men.

Such ads also violates electoral laws wherein ECI prohibits certification of political ads that contain any attack on religions or communities and incitement to violence.

The investigation uncovered multiple instances of communally charged content. Shadow pages like "Badlega Jharkhand," despite having only 28,800 Instagram followers, spent Rs 1.4 lakh in one month to reach over 1 crore people. The content repeatedly portrayed Muslim men negatively, promoted "Love Jihad" conspiracy theories, and spread false narratives about "Bangladeshi infiltrators" in Jharkhand's Santhal Pargana region.

Money Power and Digital Democracy

The report highlights how digital platforms have transformed election spending. On Google alone, BJP spent an additional Rs 71.82 lakh during this period, bringing their total official digital advertising expenditure to Rs 2.49 crore. However, Google's stricter verification processes appear to have prevented the kind of shadow advertising network flourishing on Meta.

In stark contrast to BJP's massive spending, other major political parties including INC Jharkhand and JMM showed minimal presence in digital advertising. This digital disparity suggests a growing imbalance in political communication, where one party dominates the narrative through both official and shadow channels.

The investigation emphasizes how these shadow advertisements violate multiple Supreme Court orders and Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines. All political advertisements during elections must be pre-certified by the ECI, including social media ads. However, Meta's system allows unverified actors to bypass these regulations while profiting from potentially illegal political communication.

Impact on Democratic Discourse

The report warns of the broader implications for Indian democracy. The combination of unregulated spending, algorithmic amplification of divisive content, and the platform's profit-driven approach threatens to normalize hate speech and communal polarization in political discourse.

As Jharkhand prepares for its assembly elections, this report raises crucial questions about the role of social media platforms in democratic processes. The findings suggest an urgent need for stronger regulation of digital political advertising and greater platform accountability to prevent the manipulation of voter sentiments through shadow networks.

Responding to the report, Chief Minister Hemant Soren posted on X: "मैं ग़लत नहीं बोलता हूँ जब कहता हूँ की भाजपा झूठ और नफ़रत की शोरूम है। हम झारखंडियों को विरासत में संघर्ष मिला, पुरखों की वीरता का पाठ मिला - पर इन तानाशाहो को सिर्फ और सिर्फ नफ़रत फैलाने का ज्ञान मिला।" (I am not wrong when I say that BJP is a showroom of lies and hatred. We Jharkhandis inherited struggle and lessons of ancestral bravery - but these dictators only learned to spread hatred.)