Lost in translation: How NGOs speak human when Meta reads machine : A case study on how NGOs in Sweden maintain visibility under Meta's Social issue advertising policy

Sammanfattning

Following the implementation of the regulation Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertisements in the European Union, Meta Platforms Inc. introduced a policy on 6th October 2025, prohibiting advertisements pertaining to political, electoral, and social issues. While the policy permits certain advertisements addressing social issues, it has faced criticism for its lack of clarity and inconsistent enforcement. Drawing on Oliver's (1991) response theory, platform governance literature, and empirically collected data, this study examines how non-governmental organisations (NGOs) navigate institutional pressure within the context of digital platform regulation. The findings indicate that NGOs develop strategies in order to maintain visibility within the digital public sphere through approaches that challenge, manipulate, and negotiate within existing power structures, while simultaneously testing and exploiting ambiguities within the policy framework. These adaptations reflect a strategic response to both platform governance and institutional pressures, wherein NGOs actively modify their social issue advertisements to circumvent restrictive policies rather than comply with them passively. This study further discusses how the prevailing power dynamic between platforms and organisations produces an opaque regulatory environment, wherein the platform retains de facto authority over political discourse in the digital public sphere.