MANILA—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to cover campaign on social media, including “troll farms,” within the spending cap for candidates in next year’s midterm elections, its spokesman said Thursday.

Troll farms refer to groups employed to attack using inflammatory statements or even fake information on social media.

“Right now, we’re looking at the possibility of including that,” Comelec director James Jimenez told reporters, but cited challenges such as proving that troll farms are indeed used for the campaign.

“It’s something that everyone talks about obviously, but when you’re going to regulate it, then you have to have something more than usap-usapan or conventional wisdom... so it’s something that we are exploring.”

Under the rules, candidates with political parties, other than those running for president and vice president, are allowed to spend P3 per registered voter. The limit is slightly higher at P5 for independent candidates.

While posting and sharing information on social media is free, Jimenez said the poll body could come up with rules covering the cost of production.

“So once you get that cost, ultimately, that’s what you’re going to need to report as part of your campaign expenses,” he said.