Since September, political parties in Belgium have spent almost €3 million on advertisements on Facebook and Instagram ahead of Sunday's local elections, according to figures from Belgian research collective AdLens.
Between the beginning of September and 6 October, Belgian parties spent a total of almost €3 million on ads via Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, according to research by AdLens, a Belgian group of researchers who map the advertising expenditure of political parties.
All Flemish parties combined (including local lists) accounted for €1.77 million – amounting to almost €50,000 per day. French-speaking Belgium was initially running behind on social media investments, but it has now caught up, having spent around €1 million last month.
Biggest spenders
Flemish far-right Vlaams Belang is the biggest spender: with more than €516,593, it accounts for one third of advertising expenditure in Flanders. This puts the party far ahead of the second and third parties in Flanders, right-wing N-VA (€297,152) and socialist Vooruit (€214,203).
The largest budget has been allocated to Antwerp, where all parties and politicians together spent almost €200,000 on advertisements.
While social media ads are a visible part of the campaign landscape, traditional methods such as roadside posters, door-to-door canvassing and printed leaflets remain important. Additionally, many parties are running ads on platforms such as YouTube and news websites.
