Social Media and Micro-Targeting

Micro-targeting is the practice of targeting individuals or groups with specific interests and viewpoints with the intent of influencing their thoughts. This practice is effective by itself, but its’ potency skyrockets when used in conjunction with social media. A perfect example of this can be found in the 2016 United States presidential election, when Brad Parscale, digital media manager of Donald Trump’s campaign, ran “50,000 to 60,000 variations of Facebook ads each day.” (Wong, 2018). These advertisements would present one view to one audience then present a completely different spin to another. To learn more about social media and micro-targeting, check out this article on the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/19/facebook-political-ads-social-media-history-online-democracy