Is this purely about the ‘paid advertisements’ or also the posts of political parties and all those ‘text photos’ with angry texts about Mark Rutte/the government/etc
I think you’re getting to the heart of the matter here. The problem isn’t political party ads in general. I must confess that I had prepared myself so badly for the water board elections that I rejected one of the parties as “provocative right”, only to find out a day later (thanks to the newspaper) that it was the party with which I shared many views . Instead, I opted for a party that I did not fully support, but that I knew from the second chamber and that seemed better to me than the alternatives. In other words: that party I didn’t know could have won my vote with targeted advertising. I am therefore not against political advertising.
Of course, the airtime for this is for political parties, but who watches linear television anymore? Not me anyway. I do read newspapers and see billboards in the city, but I don’t see why political advertisements should be allowed in those commercial places, but they are allowed on social media.
However, social media is not just a commercial platform like bus shelters and television channels: they are society’s drain. So as long as everyone there can spew their bile (almost) unmoderated, commercially and personally, it makes little sense to ban a very specific, but politically charged part, while all other channels and topics remain open.
