Political microtargeting is overblown, but still a danger to democracy - Business Insider

  • 📰 BusinessInsider
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 67 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 30%
  • Publisher: 51%

South Africa News News

South Africa South Africa Latest News,South Africa South Africa Headlines

Easily overblown, little-understood, and dangerous: Why we need to understand political microtargeting

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaving The Merrion Hotel in Dublin after a meeting with politicians to discuss regulation of social media and harmful content in April 2019.We learned this week that the Trump campaign may have tried to dissuade millions of Black voters from voting in 2016 through highly targeted online ads.

Microtargeting involves using the huge amounts of data consumers give away online about who they are friends with and what they like to target ads at them. And yet experts warn that while microtargeting is troubling, imputing the technology with mysterious abilities to persuade vast numbers of voters may be a distraction from real voter suppression. Ultimately, we need to understand the technology better.The very broad strokes of how microtargeting works go like this: Your behavior online generates a wealth of data about what you are like.

Although the Channel 4 documentary rightly pointed out that voter turnout among Black people fell in the districts where the Trump campaign deployed its "deterrence" campaign, Simon said this could be down to correlation rather than causation. Dr. Tom Dobber, an expert in political communication at the University of Amsterdam, agreed that the Channel 4 report did not prove the Trump campaign's attempt to influence Black voters had been a success. More generally he does believe microtargeting can be effective — but its efficacy can be blown out of proportion.

Jamal Watkins, vice president for the NAACP, told Channel 4 that the use of microtargeting to systematically disenfranchise voters was a disturbing part of the documentary's findings.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Mark Zuckerberg is possibly a good programmer. But as a leader, he doesn't suit us, Facebook users. We need an independent leader, outside of politics.

DeleteFacebook

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 729. in ZA

South Africa South Africa Latest News, South Africa South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

If revenue growth for your business has stalled, this could be why - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

8 leaders, professors to know at Stanford Graduate School of Business - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

3 things to do with extra cash if you're earning more than you need - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

15 countries to retire abroad for low taxes and good healthcare - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web. 🥶 a little cold... Switz is one of the most expensive countries on earth- this country is only for wealthy retirees...
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »

Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis could erase the airlines' nascent recovery - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web. I conver your PSD,AI,Figma etc. to HTMLwith bootstrap. please contact: How many ppl have contracted covid on an airplane? Your article doesn’t say.
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »