
Labour candidates were the biggest social media spenders overall, while Sinn Féin had several TDs elected without spending a cent online.
Kildare South Labour TD Mark Wall was among the top spenders on social media during the last general election campaign, with more than €8,000 spent between his own and Labour Party advertising.
Sinn Féin had several TDs elected without spending a cent online.
Across the country, over €1 million was spent on digital and social media ads as parties targeted voters online - but new EU transparency rules have since led Meta and Google to ban political ads entirely.
Experts, according to The Journal Investigates, warn this could leave future elections open to manipulation by “bad actors” and algorithm gaming.