Morocco election 2026: Meta advertising spending raises questions over digital campaigning

Morocco’s 2026 legislative election has brought renewed attention to the growing role of foreign digital platforms in political campaigning, particularly Facebook and Instagram, both operated by Meta.

Data from Meta’s Ad Library show substantial differences in the amounts spent by major Moroccan political parties on sponsored content during the weeks leading up to the September 23 vote. The figures offer a window into how parties used digital advertising, while also raising questions about campaign regulation, transparency and the relationship between political communication and Morocco’s wider debate over economic and digital sovereignty.

Meta advertising reveals large differences between parties

According to data compiled from Meta’s Ad Library for the period from August 9 to September 7, the National Rally of Independents (RNI) spent $133,103 on 514 advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) recorded $22,184 across 889 advertisements, while the Istiqlal Party spent $14,489 on 138 advertisements. The Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) recorded $6,095 for 191 advertisements.

These figures cover advertising activity visible through Meta’s own advertising database during the period examined. They should not be interpreted as a complete accounting of the parties’ digital campaign budgets. Production costs, communication agencies, staff, content creation and spending on other platforms are not necessarily reflected.

The figures nevertheless illustrate the extent to which some political organisations incorporated paid visibility on international social-media platforms into their campaign strategies.

Digital campaigning meets the debate over local economic priorities

The use of foreign technology platforms has an additional dimension in Morocco because political parties have simultaneously placed domestic companies, local production and support for very small, small and medium-sized enterprises among their economic priorities.

The Istiqlal Party, for example, has proposed increasing the local content of energy projects and introducing mechanisms intended to favour value created in Morocco. The RNI has also highlighted the competitiveness of TPMEs in discussions with the private sector.

The presence of political advertising on Meta does not, by itself, contradict those policy commitments. Facebook and Instagram are widely used communication channels, and political organisations can use them to reach voters regardless of where the platforms are headquartered.

The issue is instead one of how campaign resources are allocated and how digital communication fits into broader discussions about the development of Morocco’s own media, technology and advertising ecosystems.

Election results show that advertising expenditure is not a direct electoral measure

The final results of the September 23 legislative election provide another reason to treat advertising expenditure cautiously.

The PAM finished with 97 seats in the 395-member House of Representatives, followed by the RNI with 66, Istiqlal with 65 and the Justice and Development Party (PJD) with 54. The Interior Ministry confirmed that the final results were unchanged from the provisional distribution announced after the vote.

The RNI’s comparatively high level of visible Meta advertising during the period examined therefore did not translate into the largest number of parliamentary seats.

That comparison, however, cannot establish a causal relationship between digital advertising and electoral performance. Voting outcomes are influenced by numerous factors, including candidates, territorial organisation, party history, campaign activity, local networks, voter mobilisation, political perceptions and turnout.

Paid reach is consequently only one element of a much broader electoral environment.

Morocco tightens the rules around paid political content

The role of foreign platforms has also become a legal issue.

Morocco’s amended electoral framework includes sanctions for publishing paid political advertisements or paid electoral publications on foreign electronic platforms. The applicable provisions provide for fines ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 dirhams for certain violations.

The existence of such provisions does not mean that every advertisement recorded in Meta’s Ad Library constitutes an electoral-law violation. Determining whether a particular publication falls within the scope of the prohibition requires an examination of its content, timing, financing, purpose and the circumstances in which it was distributed.

The distinction is important because Meta’s advertising database is a transparency tool, not a judicial register of electoral offences.

Social media can amplify campaigns without measuring the whole electorate

The 2026 campaign also highlighted the wider challenge of interpreting political activity on social networks.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and similar platforms can rapidly distribute speeches, campaign videos and political messages to large audiences. Their algorithms can also give significant visibility to material that generates strong reactions, including controversy and emotionally charged political content.

But online engagement cannot automatically be equated with electoral support.

A widely viewed video does not necessarily indicate that its audience intends to vote for the candidate featured in it. Likewise, high interaction levels can reflect criticism, curiosity or controversy rather than political approval.

For parties and campaign strategists, the distinction between digital visibility and actual political support therefore remains significant.

The post-election question is broader than Meta

The Moroccan election has left a broader question about the future of political communication in the digital era: how should parties balance the reach offered by global technology companies with the development of domestic media and digital industries?

There is no inherent contradiction in using international platforms while promoting national economic priorities. At the same time, the scale of political spending on those platforms makes transparency and regulatory oversight increasingly important.

For voters, the figures provide an additional piece of information about how parties attempted to reach them during the campaign. They do not, on their own, explain why voters ultimately made their choices.

The September 23 result instead demonstrates that electoral competition remains shaped by a combination of digital campaigning, traditional political organisation, local mobilisation and voter behaviour.

Meta can measure impressions, clicks and interactions. The ballot box measures something different: the votes that citizens actually cast.