From Billboards to Bots: Rethinking Political Finance for a Digital World

The digitalization of political campaigning has transformed the ways in which political parties and candidates interact with voters. While offering new avenues for political engagement and outreach, digital campaigning also raises critical regulatory and transparency challenges—ranging from opaque online advertising, third-party influence, and data-driven microtargeting to foreign interference. In response to this evolving landscape, International IDEA has produced the report Political Finance in the Digital Age: Towards Evidence-Based Reforms , which is a comprehensive examination of how digital campaigning intersects with political finance systems. It analyzes the regulatory implications of online campaigning, and the roles of oversight institutions, civil society, and tech companies. The report provides actionable recommendations to help ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in political and campaign finance in the digital era. In this episode, Khushbu Agrawal, Adviser for Money in Politics and Editor of the report speaks to Dr Wouter Wolfs, the lead author, exploring the emerging trends, regulatory gaps, and innovative practices drawn from the 13 case studies, which form the basis of the global report. Guest : Wouter Wolfs Background reading:

You can listen to From Billboards to Bots: Rethinking Political Finance for a Digital World online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

From Billboards to Bots: Rethinking Political Finance for a Digital World is an episode from Democracy IDEAs by The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

This episode is 31:05 long.

This episode was published on Jul 24, 2025.

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