In interim orders on January 24 and 29, the Sindh High Court called for uninterrupted mobile phone and broadband services and access to social media platforms and websites in the lead-up to the general election. The orders underscore the centrality of digital media infrastructure and social media in election campaigns – both as a tool for candidates and parties and a means for voters to access vital information.

Social media has emerged as an essential part of elections, particularly since news coverage by the mainstream media is seen as constrained. A general distrust of the media and the perception of a “managed” election have made social media the primary source of information for sceptics. Trends on social media suggest that user-generated content is driving campaigns as supporters of various parties turn to digital platforms to express their support in the language of the internet: fan cams of favourite candidates and memes of opposing parties.

Much has been made of the pervasiveness of disinformation and misinformation on digital platforms, particularly in the context of elections. While this is a significant challenge for democracies across the world, one must not overlook the ways in which information is constructed, contested and circulated online. Online disinformation exists alongside political spaces users carve out for themselves. This is particularly true in this election cycle as political parties are scrambling to find a coherent voice online. A perusal of accounts of political parties shows that there is little made-for-digital content except from the PTI. Given the vacuum, users are creating their own content by repurposing content from rallies and interviews or commenting on news reporting.

Smaller parties, independents and first-time candidates are also using social media to disseminate their campaign messages and content. Digital platforms provide them an opportunity to build an image as an alternative to larger parties and more established candidates. Social media lends itself to developing a direct relationship with audiences, or at least an illusion of it. Candidates can speak directly to their constituents, and more frequently.

This is also relevant to those contesting multiple seats. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, for instance, has been speaking to digital content creators and podcasts in an effort to appeal to the youth vote. Digital platforms can play a major role in making candidates seem more approachable, even when they are not.

All these tactics have been pioneered by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, often setting the standards for the way mainstream political parties use social media. While Bilawal is borrowing from the PTI playbook, the latter has leveraged every social media platform, often displaying reckless optimism and being the first movers for years. Imran Khan appeared on several digital podcasts in 2022 immediately after his removal from power, the medium shift reflecting his relationship with power. After being denied an election symbol, the PTI quickly put together a portal and a chatbot linked to Imran Khan’s direct messages to make it easier for voters to check the PTI-backed candidates in their constituencies. The need to campaign with their de facto party head incarcerated prompted AI-generated videos to substitute for live speech. The PTI also pioneered the “virtual jalsa,” causing three shutdowns of various social media platforms in two months.

Another party that has successfully leveraged digital platforms is the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan. Religious groups regularly use video-based platforms to disseminate sermons and speeches. However, these parties often struggle with takedowns and content removal running afoul of hate speech guidelines and policies relating to dangerous organisations and individuals.

Another tool available to the modern social media election campaigner is political ads on social media, which are often cheaper than television advertisements and provide opportunities for targeted campaigning. A quick perusal of Meta’s Ad Library shows that many parties are not using social media ads as extensively as one might think. For instance, as of January 31, active sponsored posts containing the words PTI, PML-N and PPP were 180, 55 and 140, respectively. Furthermore, there were no ads published by the official PTI page on Facebook. The PPP and the PML-N’s official pages had 19 and 6 active ads, respectively. It was pages run by candidates and supporters of parties that ran the most ads. Interestingly, digital political ads are also being used by independent candidates like Jibran Nasir as part of their election campaign.

There are some popular platforms that political parties have failed to capitalise on, particularly TikTok. Analysis of the #GeneralElection2024 hashtag on TikTok shows an overwhelming amount of PTI-generated or pro-PTI content and a complete absence of other parties. PTI’s extensive use of TikTok was analysed by Abdul Moiz Malik in his research, TikTok: The new frontier for political info-wars, from May 2023. However, it seems that the other parties have failed to develop a significant presence on the extremely influential platform.

It is disappointing that most political parties have not come up with innovative social media strategies for the elections despite the undeniable place of digital platforms in our lives. Most of the content on pages of parties and candidates consists of pictures and videos of them on the campaign trail, interspersed with some infographics about their agenda. While digital spaces are not accessible to all in Pakistan, many more Pakistanis are online than ever before. They come from different classes, linguistic backgrounds, genders and ideological leanings. These people are seeking out politics and information online from a vast array of sources, and this is bound to impact how they vote or whether they vote at all.

The writer is a researcher and campaigner for human and digital rights issues