Biggest Facebook ad spenders failed to win election seats
Despite Meta’s ban on political ads, Maltese candidates spent thousands
The candidates who spent the most on Facebook and Instagram advertising during the election campaign failed to win seats, a Times of Malta analysis of Meta data shows.
Labour candidate Ray Abela recorded the highest estimated spend among candidates analysed, while Valletta mayor Olaf McKay and the PN’s Leone Sciberras were also among the most active advertisers. None of them were elected.
However, Abela has a chance of getting a seat in parliament through the casual election process.
Meta banned political advertising across the EU in October 2025, but in practice, Maltese candidates still used the platform to promote their campaigns in the run-up to polling day.
The analysis of Meta’s Ad Library, covering the five-week campaign between April 27 and May 30, shows candidates spent between €2,100 and €33,186 on ads across Facebook and Instagram.
Because Meta does not publish exact figures, the amounts are based on the spending ranges listed in its Ad Library.
Ray Abela ran 88 Facebook ads during the campaign, with Meta recording a spend of between €300 and €5,151. That was the highest estimated expenditure among the candidates analysed.
McKay ran 82 ads over the same period, with Meta recording a spend of up to €3,267. Borg Debono Grech ran 59 ads, spending up to €1,287.
The figures suggest that heavy social media spending did not necessarily translate into electoral success.
On the Nationalist side, Michael Piccinino ran 89 ads during the campaign but spent no more than €792, suggesting frequent, low-cost boosts rather than high-value placements. Piccinino was elected in the fourth district.
Leone Sciberras ran 73 ads with a spend of up to €2,376 but did not get elected, while Frank-Anthony Tabone and Julian Borg each spent an estimated €600-€1,000 on Facebook advertising and got elected in the 13th and sixth district, respectively.
Spending was heavily concentrated among a small number of candidates in each party. Most candidates recorded either minimal or no Facebook advertising throughout the campaign.
It is unclear whether candidates deliberately classified their ads as non-political to circumvent the ban or whether Meta’s own systems failed to flag them.