Ranil tops political ad expenditure list on Meta in SL 

By Maneshka Borham

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s political campaign has emerged as the highest spender on political advertisements across Meta platforms during the past month. 

According to data published by the local organisation Hashtag Generation, political campaigns in support of Wickremesinghe have collectively spent approximately over Rs. 5.1 million or $ 17,000 in Meta advertisements alone from 30 June to 29 July. 

The ‘Join Ranil’ Facebook page topped the list by taking out 44 advertisements at a cost of $ 13,093 while the ‘UNP Volunteers’ page has spent $ 3,559 on eight advertisements. 

Presidential hopeful Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, it emerged, has spent $ 2,323 to take out 10 advertisements in his support. 17 advertisements run by the President’s Media Division had cost $ 661. 

Facebook page ‘Next Politics’, a page with content solely targeting the National People’s Power (NPP) party and its leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has spent $ 354 on 54 advertisements during the time period. While the page’s party affiliation remains unknown, content in support of Wickremesinghe was observed.

Other top spenders included the Samagi Tharuna Balawegaya (STB), Former STB Vice Chairperson Rehan Jayawickreme, Webnewslk, and Glocal, a page linked to the Labour and Foreign Employment Ministry.