Expect to have your social media feeds swamped with election adverts today as politicians try desperately to hold onto their seats and hopeful challengers lay siege.
Under federal election rules, a campaign media blackout fell across all parties on Thursday, barring them from advertising on radio and television.
The Australian Electoral Commission recorded 743,000 pre-poll ballots that day, the biggest pre-polling day in Australia's history.
But because it is not pre-internet days and media has spread well beyond traditional outlets, the blackout no longer gives voters a reprieve.
It instead diverts the campaign online and across social media.
Who's spending what?
According to data from Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram), ALP candidate for the Brisbane seat of Petrie, Mick Denton, has pumped more than $14,000 into Instagram and Facebook adverts this past week — the equivalent of $2,000 a day.
He was hoping to unseat the LNP's Luke Howarth, who has attempted to fight him off by spending about $6,000.
The ALP incumbent in Brisbane's seat of Lilley, Anika Wells, has poured more than $64,000 into advertising on Instagram and Facebook since mid-2020.
She is the biggest spender of all Queensland's major party candidates, having rolled out 680 Facebook and Instagram advertisements over the past two years.
Ms Wells has spent more than $4,000 in the past seven days alone.
She is trying to hold onto a seat with a margin of just 0.6 per cent — the tightest in the state.
The second-highest spender was the LNP's Phillip Thompson, who is defending his Townsville seat of Herbert in north Queensland.
Despite holding a comparatively safer seat with an 8.4 per cent margin, he has still spent more than $50,000 since August 2020 on about 500 Instagram and Facebook adverts, including $4,216 in the past week.
What about the media blackout?
The media blackout only applies to television and radio, which meant video platforms like YouTube and social media apps like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram were exempt, along with newspapers and websites.
Text messages, including those transmitting multimedia, were also exempt from the blackout, a platform controversially used by Clive Palmer and his United Australia Party.
Griffith University associate professor Paul Williams said social media spending gave candidates and parties big bang for their buck, with their messages better-targeted than a TV, radio or website ad.
"There's so many people that don't watch any television at all," he said.
"[This includes] YouTube clips, TikTok, whatever it is, where they will see these social media political ads."
Should the blackout be dropped?
Achieving the same reach through major media outlets could cost candidates millions of dollars.
But Dr Williams said with millions of people voting ahead of election day through pre-polling and postal votes, the blackout made even less sense.
"Or lose the blackout then look at [campaign] spending caps."
An 18-month inquiry into the 2019 federal election recommended the blackout should be reviewed "with a view that the restrictions on commercial radio and television broadcasters be removed".
