PTI used state resources to promote political agenda on social media

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was reportedly found guilty of utilizing state resources to promote the party’s agenda during its tenure, reported 24NewsHD TV channel Wednesday.

According to the official documents, the government resources were used to promote the PTI leadership, and political narrative, as well as the state resources also used for character assassination of the opposition political leaders during PTI tenure.

The PTI leadership during its tenure allegedly sidelined the annual development projects and tasked the social media team to disseminate PTI’s political narrative as well as fake social media teams were allegedly utilized for personality cult promotion and spreading misinformation.

These accounts were used for political purposes and to incite public sentiments for personal and political gain.

Government funds were channeled into disseminating divisive messages in society, and these accounts experienced a significant increase in followers due to official resources.

PTI allegedly spent millions from the state exchequer to pay social media teams, who were employed for monthly salaries ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000, meanwhile, the cost of this project amounted to Rs 870 million.

According to recent investigation, it was revealed that 72.5 percent of the 800 social media accounts had no affiliation with PTI prior to 2021. However, after 2022, 86 percent of these accounts began posting PTI narratives.

The report further suggests that PTI recruited youth to advance the party’s agenda, and these accounts, on May 9, attempted to sow discord among the public and institutions by spreading hatred.