CONTROVERSIAL messages were all part of the Brexit campaign’s key strategy, Facebook has confirmed – from being able to spend £350 million a week on the NHS to the prospect of Turkey joining the EU and even Brussels red tape threatening “our cuppa” as it released a cache of adverts to MPs.
The details came as the social media giant saw more than £80 billion wiped off the value of its shares amid a warning of slowing user and sales growth.
Nine of Vote Leave’s ads were viewed between two and five million times out of hundreds paid for by the pro-Brexit campaign, suggesting the group had paid significantly more to have the messaging appear more prominently in people’s newsfeeds on Facebook.
Five of the nine Vote Leave adverts, which were viewed some two to five million times, focused on immigration.
Of those, two identical adverts stressed plans for Turkey to join the EU with an image of a large red arrow sweeping across Europe from Turkey to the UK.
The text read: “The EU is expanding and plans on granting Turkey visa-free travel. This will put enormous pressure on the NHS, our border security and economy. Have we lost control?"
At the time, negotiations for Turkey to join the EU had completed one of 35 rounds of legislation and, as a member, the UK would be able to veto any plans.
Another popular advert claimed more than five million “new immigrants” were heading to the UK.
The figure appears to be based on the highest possible projection of EU immigration to the UK by the Office for National Statistics at the time.
And three identical adverts, which were seen by between two and five million people, urged voters to “spend our money on our priorities like the NHS”.
They also cited the disputed figure of £350m per week sent to the EU.
As one of the figureheads of the campaign, Boris Johnson featured heavily in many of the more widely seen adverts.
In two, the former foreign secretary is quoted talking about immigration.
And in a third, Johnson is pictured in front of a Vote Leave lorry with a caption urging people to vote for Brexit.
Adverts ranged over a number of subjects, from protecting polar bears to banning the sale of whale meat.
Other messages accused the EU of wanting to “ban tea kettles” and “kill our cuppa”.
Vote Leave paid for significantly more Facebook advertisements around the EU referendum than the other campaign groups, according to the documents released to a House of Commons committee inquiring into fake news.
However, one advert from BeLeave, published the week before the referendum, was seen by more than five million people.
This was more than any of the other adverts released by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
It read: “Being under EU rule is severely restricting our ability to grow and reach our full potential as a great nation.
“It is time we take a stand for Britain.
“Let’s vote to leave the EU on 23 June so we can have a clear and prosperous future! BeLeave in Britain! BeLeave”.
Yesterday, Facebook’s market value plunged after the company told investors that user growth had slowed in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
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