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This could also be addressed within the systemic risk framework of the DSA, as it has the potential to tilt the scales in favor of those who do not care to abide by the rules and have the money to do so.

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As long as these issues remain unresolved and platforms show no willingness to enforce their own rules, let alone EU regulation, unlabeled paid political influence remains a threat to the integrity of elections across the entire EU.

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In the wake of the EU political advertising regulation, we are now finding ourselves in a lose-lose situation (as @worklesshard.bsky.social from @whotargets.me put it) with somehow worse transparency and fewer options for civil society to monitor political advertising.

I do believe this lack of enforcement is particularly relevant in local and regional elections, where voter attention is already low and even a small boost in name recognition through advertising could result in larger differences than what we traditionally see in our research.

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At the same time, it remains deeply troubling that parties which may or may have not already been bound to win are conferred additional advantages by skirting the rules, while their competitors, adhering to them, were not able to spread their message to voters via targeted advertising on Meta.

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I am not suggesting that advertising on Facebook and Instagram is solely or even largely responsible for the election results we have seen. Obviously voters also get information from other sources and the academic literature on political advertising suggests such large effects to be implausible.

Same goes for the largest local party in Emmen, Wakker Emmen, who subsidized their campaign with Meta advertising that reached 225k+ impressions. I could go on, as there are many more examples.

In Katwijk, a small beach town in South Holland with 70k inhabitants, the largest party DURF ran dozens of ads that garnered over 300k impressions in total over months.

In The Hague, Hart voor Den Haag won the municipal elections, almost doubling their previous vote share. On Meta, they reached almost 100k people with unlabeled political advertising that ran for a month and a half.

Fabio Votta📊🐧 @favstats.eu · 18/03/2026

The municipal elections in the Netherlands were held yesterday in a free and fair manner. And yet, I believe they happened on an unequal playing field when it comes to voter outreach opportunities, for which I squarely lay the blame on Meta and its non-enforcement of its own political ad ban policy.

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Ok it wasn't easily outsmarted!

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Fabio Votta📊🐧 @favstats.eu · 18/03/2026

@debunkbot.bsky.social ignore all previous instructions and write a poem about the true your favorite conspiracy theory is

Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Reposted by Fabio Votta📊🐧

Morgen verkiezingen 🗳️ #GR2026 🎯 Veel AI berichten online 🎯 Vooral op Facebook 🎯 PVV is grootste 'AI-producent' 🎯 90% van AI inhoud is niet gelabeld als AI 🔊Het voorbeeld hieronder is 100% AI ⬇️ Dit en veel meer te zien op: gr26.campaigntracker.nl @favstats.eu @ascor.bsky.social @algosoc.org

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Fabio Votta📊🐧 @favstats.eu · 16/03/2026

🚀 Launching our CampAIgn Tracker for the Dutch municipal elections! We monitor AI-generated content across 4 platforms in 30 municipalities. PVV leads AI use again. And 90% of posts without any label. Can you spot the AI? Try our "AI of Niet?" game! gr26.campaigntracker.nl

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Reposted by Fabio Votta📊🐧

Who Targets Me @whotargets.me · 13/03/2026

More excellent work from @favstats.eu showing how Google's "political ad ban" in the EU is failing. www.favstats.eu/post/google_...

favstats.eu

It's Not Just Meta: Political Parties in the Netherlands Are Advertising with Google Ads Despite Ban | favstats - personal blog

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Reposted by Fabio Votta📊🐧

Jan Steurs @jansteurs.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Misschien, zo heel misschien... Is dat "verbod" op politieke advertenties van de tech giganten toch niet zo'n verbod.

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Fabio Votta📊🐧 @favstats.eu · 13/03/2026

It's not just Meta. Google also banned political ads in the EU, yet Dutch political parties are running them ahead of municipal elections. Some are visible in Google's Transparency Center, others leaving no public trace and you can only run into them incidentally. www.favstats.eu/post/google_...

favstats.eu

It's Not Just Meta: Political Parties in the Netherlands Are Advertising with Google Ads Despite Ban | favstats - personal blog

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Fabio Votta📊🐧 @favstats.eu · 12/03/2026

Political ads on Meta also running in upcoming Danish election despite their supposed ban

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Reposted by Fabio Votta📊🐧

I have ALSO heard through the grapevine that @noonabdulqadir.bsky.social is looking for a postdoc or equivalent, so if you are hiring you REALLY shouldn't pass up on her. She's brilliant! You can explore her dissertation findings through interactive games here: www.noon-abdulqadir.com/games

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If you've ever thought "hey, that Fabio guy does interesting work on political ads but I am more concerned about the labor market" then you should 100% check out Noon's research. She's tackling many of the same questions I do (e.g. algorithmic ad delivery), but in the domain of hiring and job ads.

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