Sunak spends far more than Truss on Facebook ads

Rishi Sunak's campaign invested nearly 24,000 £ in Facebook advertising since mid-July, outspending Tory leadership rival Liz Truss.

The former Chancellor has spent £23,810 on 208 adverts since July 16, according to data from Facebook's ad library.

The money was used to promote posts from Mr. Sunak's personal Facebook page and that of his campaign called Ready4Rishi, and made him one of the UK's top 20 Facebook advertising spenders in the last month.

Ms Truss spent significantly less, paying £6,590 to promote 20 ads over the same period.

< p>August 14, l In the most recent day for which data is available, Ms. Truss' campaign recorded no spending on Facebook ads. while Mr Sunak's campaign spent £1,635.

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Liz Truss has spent far less on Facebook advertising than her leadership rival (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

A spokeswoman for Mr Sunak's campaign said: "There are all kinds of ways to communicate Rishi's message and online advertising is effective and has the potential to reach millions of people each week.

“It is essential that people understand what Rishi has to offer the country, especially in what is going to be a difficult time for the country.”

In accordance with what is understood to be the age profile of conservative members, Facebook data shows that both candidates primarily targeted their ads at older users.

Several of Ms. Truss's ads, for example, were not shown to anyone under the age of 35, while people over the age of 65 s were the bulk of the recipients.

Mr. Sunak's advertisements were reportedly aimed at members and allegedly encouraged 10,000 of them to sign up for his campaign.

The Labor has also used the Conservative leadership race as a spur for Facebook advertising, using some of the £10,200 it has spent since July 16 to promote messages critical of the candidates.