PTI dominates online searches: Google Trends Data

ISLAMABAD: Recent data from Google Trends indicates a significant disparity in online search interest among political parties in Pakistan over the past 14 days ahead of the February 8 general elections 2024.

With general elections in the country less than a month away, search engine Google has launched a dedicated page for election search trends in Pakistan.

The page shows key terms being serached about the Pakistan election on google and also allows them to be filtered by city or region.

In addition, the page has also picked out major political parties and shown which of them is the subject of most search queries.

The election search trends page also allows its data to be embedded across websites.

According to the trend page Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) emerges as the most searched party, capturing a staggering 78 percent of the search interest.

In contrast, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) trails behind with a search interest of only 14 percent. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) registered a modest 3 percent in online searches, while Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan garnered 2 percent. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) secured a search interest of 1.9 percent.

These statistics reveal a clear dominance of PTI in the online sphere, possibly reflecting public interest, discussions, or engagement with the party’s activities and policies. The varying search percentages shed light on the diverse levels of attention and curiosity directed towards different political entities in Pakistan.

The feature is part of the Google News Initiative that makes online search tools accessible to promote better journalism in digital spaces. It is also aimed at fighting misinformation.

However, it is important to note that the data displayed on the page are simply search trends and search interest about a particular event or party cannot simply be considered an indication of public support.

Read more: OpenAI to launch anti-disinformation tools for elections 2024