Telecommunications State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak has topped the list of highest individual spenders on Facebook ads from Bangladesh for personal promotion and boosting, reveals a recent 'Ad Library' report of the social media giant.

Some Facebook pages have recently increased their advertising expenditures to post controversial and critical issues, according to the 'Ad Library' report. 

Regarding the issue, the Mirror Asia tried to reach State Minister Palak for comment. However, he didn’t response.

The report highlights that from September 2022 to July 25 of this year, Zunaid Ahmed Palak spent 26.86 thousand dollars on Facebook ads. Mobile banking platform Nagad spent 37.43 thousand dollars to Facebook, highest among corporate, during this period.

The report further notes that several pages, such as 'Rupgonjer Kotha', 'Valor Pothe', 'Shofol Bangladesh', 'Amar Netri Amar Ohongkar', 'Projonmer Awaj', 'Ahoban', 'Nouka Manei', and 'BD Peoples Voice', have spent a significant on Facebook ads recently.

Over the last 90 days, 'Rupgonjer Kotha', 'Projonmer Awaj', 'Panjeree Publications Limited', 'Zunaid Ahmed Palak', and 'Daily News' were among the top spenders. However, more recently, ad spending increased for pages like 'Ahoban,''Amrai Bangladesh,' 'Valor Pothe,' 'Dushmon,' 'Amar Desh Amar Ohongkar,' 'Abar 10 Truck', and 'BDNews Insider.' A review of these pages shows numerous posts related to the anti-quota movement. Many of these posts are being boosted.

Politicians have also ramped up their Facebook boosts recently. Some of these politicians are Mahmud Hasan Ripon, MP Salma Islam, and MA Razzak Khan Raj CIP.

Meanwhile, the country’s political parties have increased their focus on Facebook advertising. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), BNP Media Cell, Bangladesh Awami League, and Awami League Media Cell are actively using pages for their activities.

An analysis shows that posts on these Facebook pages are boosted with around  US $100 each. The highest spent is in the Dhaka and Chattogram regions, and the lowest in the Barishal and Rangpur divisions.

As the internet was shutdown in the country after July 18, Palak resumed posting from his verified Facebook page shortly after broadband internet was restored on July 23. He consistently shares information on Facebook about his various activities.

He also conducted live broadcasts of various events. Palak is also active on Instagram and often posts from his verified TikTok account.

Palak at a press briefing recently claimed that he uses social media to provide accurate information and combat rumors. The junior minster also mentioned that he, along with other important government institutions ‘can remain active’ in this manner.