Dr Paul Reilly
Senior Lecturer in Communications, Media and Democracy at the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow. He is a media and communication researcher with a specific interest in how social media are used to frame contentious political issues within divided societies like Northern Ireland.
Email: paul.reilly@glasgow.ac.uk
UK Election 2024
Section 3: The nations and regions
25. Have voters fallen out of love with the SNP? (Dr Lynn Bennie)
26. The spectre of Sturgeon still looms large in gendered coverage in Scotland (Melody House, Dr Fiona McKay)
27. The personalisation of Scottish politics in a UK General Election (Dr Michael Higgins, Dr Maike Dinger)
28. Competence, change and continuity: a tale of two nations (Dr Will Kitson)
29. Election success, but problems remain for Labour in Wales (Dr Nye Davies)
30. Four ways in which Northern Ireland’s own seismic results will affect the new Parliament (Prof Katy Hayward)
31. Bringing People together or pulling them apart? What Facebook ads say about the NI campaign (Dr Paul Reilly)
32. A New Dawn For Levelling Up? (Prof Arianna Giovannini)
33. Who defines Britain? National identity at the heart of the 2024 UK General Election (Dr Tabitha Baker)
While some commentators predicted that 2024 would be the first ‘TikTok election’, Facebook and Instagram were key battlegrounds for the main political parties. An estimated £4.2 million was spent on Meta election ads in the first month of the UK General Election campaign; Labour’s adverts tended to focus on their plans for government while the Conservatives sought to convince voters not to give Keir Starmer a large majority and made disputed claims about his plans to increase taxes. Facebook, in particular, was viewed as a vital platform to reach voters aged 25-49 years old. This was especially true in Northern Ireland, where the platform is frequently ranked as the fourth most popular source of news among adults.
While elections in the divided society have historically been characterised as de facto sectarian headcounts, the 2024 General Election presented significant challenges to political unionism. There was much contention, on and offline, about the ‘Irish Sea Border’ created by the UK’s departure from the EU, amid some clamour among nationalists and republicans for a referendum on Irish unity. The future of the power-sharing Executive was again called into question by the resignation of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson after he was charged with historic sex offences. His successor Gavin Robinson faced the prospect of losing ground to the moderate Alliance Party in key constituencies such as East Belfast and Lagan Valley. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin, the largest nationalist party, were poised to become the largest Northern Irish party despite their policy of not taking their seats in Westminster.
So, what do online election ads tell us about the election campaign in Northern Ireland? Data from the Meta Ad library provides some insight into the digital strategies of the main parties. First, Sinn Féin had the highest number of likes for their party page and were amongst the highest spenders on ads. In terms of individual candidates, the Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Colum Eastwood recorded the highest ad spend, followed by Sinn Féin’s John Finucane and Chris Hazzard. Pro-union parties were also investing in their respective digital campaigns, albeit not to the same degree as their nationalist counterparts. The hardline Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), who accused the DUP of overselling the deal to restore power-sharing in February 2024, promoted candidates such as Ron McDowell in the Strangford constituency. It should also be noted that the Alliance Party paid £19.4K for ads between 30th May and 28th June, placing it just behind Sinn Féin in terms of its spending total.
Second, there was a noticeable difference in the rhetoric used by unionist and nationalist parties. The DUP’s North Belfast candidate Phillip Brett was depicted as a “new voice from a new generation” in an ad implicitly criticising John Finucane for not taking his seat at Westminster. The largest unionist party urged voters to send Brett alongside a ‘strong team of pro-union MPs’ to represent Northern Ireland in the UK Parliament. The TUV ads emphasised the “trust and honesty” of its candidates whilst accusing the DUP of misleading unionists over the Windsor Framework. Such negative campaigning was in sharp contrast to the more hopeful visions of the future offered by other candidates. The word ‘change’ was used by Alliance, SDLP and Sinn Féin candidates who emphasised their progressive credentials and how they would represent both communities. The ad for Pat Cullen, Sinn Féin’s candidate in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, pledged to “build a better future for everyone” and urged citizens to make their vote count. A similar theme emerged from Alliance leader Naomi Long’s ad, which encouraged voters to “help lead that change”. In this respect, the former members of the 2019 ‘Remain Alliance’ appeared to be drawing a contrast between their vision of a more inclusive society and the negative messaging of the unionist parties who had supported Brexit.
Whether these ads actually changed hearts and minds during the election campaign remains to be seen. Researchers have already cast doubt on whether unsolicited political messages on social media are any different than flyers posted through letterboxes. There have also been studies suggesting that they have limited effect on turnout. Moreover, as I argued previously, issues such as the crisis in Northern Ireland’s public services and perceptions of the ‘Irish Sea Border’ are more likely to have influenced the voting behaviour of those entering polling stations on 4 July. Nevertheless, analysis of the Meta Ad library shows that the main political parties in the region see value in using platforms like Facebook and Instagram to target key demographics during elections. Perhaps next time we will see Northern Ireland’s first ‘TikTok election’.
