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We have had a number of discussions on SN, regarding the influence the tech industry exercises in politics. This story offers a little insight into that influence. No matter your opinion in this 2020 election, you should give this story some real thought.
It's a moderately long read, but I encourage one and all to click on the link, and read it through.
And - disclaimer: I found this story because the Green site published it first.
This data expert helped Trump win. Now he’s built a machine to take him down
Former Facebook employee James Barnes is part of a team that’s tapping big data to nudge critical voters to the polls—amid intense efforts to keep them home.Starting in August 2019, you may have seen an ad in your Facebook news feed asking you to take a news quiz. If you didn’t know who controlled the Senate, for instance—about 30% of people didn’t—you would be classified as most persuadable, and you would become part of one of the largest and most sophisticated experiments of its kind.
On the internet, we’re subject to hidden A/B tests all the time, but this one was also part of a political weapon: a multimillion-dollar tool kit built by a team of Facebook vets, data nerds, and computational social scientists determined to defeat Donald Trump. The goal is to use microtargeted ads, follow-up surveys, and an unparalleled data set to win over key electorates in a few critical states: the low-education voters who unexpectedly came out in droves or stayed home last time, the voters who could decide another monumental election.
By this spring, the project, code named Barometer, appeared to be paying off. During a two-month period, the data scientists found that showing certain Facebook ads to certain possible Trump voters lowered their approval of the president by 3.6%. For the frantic final laps, they’ve set their sights on motivating another key group of swing-state voters—young Democratic-leaning voters, mostly women and people of color—who could push Joe Biden to victory.
“We’ve been able to really understand how to communicate with folks who have lower levels of political knowledge, who tend to be ignored by the political process,” says James Barnes, a data and ads expert at the all-digital progressive nonprofit Acronym, who helped build Barometer. This is familiar territory: Barnes spent years on Facebook’s ads team, and in 2016 was the “embed” who helped the Trump campaign take Facebook by storm. Last year, he left Facebook and resolved to use his battle-tested tactics to take down his former client.
“We have found ways to find the right news to put in front of them, and we found ways to understand what works and doesn’t,” Barnes says. “And if you combine all those things together, you get a really effective approach, and that’s what we’re doing.”
I think it is important to note what has been revealed here, as well as noting what is not claimed.
The research identified low-information potential voters, then experimented with changing the opinions of those low-information voters. What is not claimed, is that factual data was presented to these low-information voters. The only claim being made here is, they can identify potential low-information voters, then manipulate their opinions.
A multitude of outside anti-Trump groups such as Acronym have spent millions more to fill in the gaps. Earlier this year, Priorities USA and Color of Change launched a $24 million digital advertising campaign aimed at exciting Black voters in swing states. American Bridge and Unite the Country, two of the other largest progressive PACs, have tapped Mike Bloomberg’s political ad tech startup, Hawkfish to wage their own data-rich digital onslaughts through Election Day. Acronym was first out of the gate, and is thought to be the Democrats’ most advanced digital advertising project. By the election it promises to have spent $75 million on Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, Hulu, Roku, Viacom, Pandora, and anywhere else valuable voters might be found.
For a year that money went toward targeting low-information voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, and North Carolina, but by the end of the summer, the Barometer team saw its persuasion powers diminishing; they guessed that they couldn’t budge the president’s approval rating any lower. So Acronym redirected that cash to motivate another critical audience of low-information voters: new or unlikely Democratic-leaning people thought to be unexcited about Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris. Barometer’s scientists have identified 1.8 million such voters in six states—mostly women of color younger than 35 across Acronym’s original five target states, plus Georgia.
With more than $1 million per week in Facebook ads during the homestretch, “we’re trying to boost their enthusiasm,” says Kyle Tharp, Acronym’s VP of communications.
Despite upbeat polls and record early turnout numbers, Acronym’s battle was never going to be easy. These voters are thought to be some of the least-excited, and while Acronym has identified them as the easiest to persuade, they are also highly susceptible to the sort of BS that can keep voters home. Research has shown that low-information voters are not only less likely to vote but more likely to believe falsehoods; sometimes they’re called “misinformation voters.” And deterring voters with falsehoods and fear may be easier than motivating them with facts and hope. A false claim about voting, for instance, is much easier to spread on Twitter—or by anonymous text message—than it is to correct.
Again, we see specific demographics targeted, and swayed, with targeted advertising, meant to sway that specific demographic. And, we see that it works.
OK - a whole bunch of people voted for Biden, and the lower information people are going to cheer for this campaign.
The question is - how will you feel if/when you find yourself on the wrong side of a similar campaign?
Forget about the 2020 election for a few moments. I have a long track record of being opposed to the very concept of targeted advertising. I positively HATE the idea that any corporation can track you, or me, with fine detail. It sucks that your data or mine is available, and for sale to the highest bidder. And, here, we have a corporation openly admitting that they can, they have, manipulated voters into casting their vote for the corporation's chosen candidate.
Whether you be an R, a D, Independent, third party, or whatever - you should get involved with the investigations into the tech industries. Contact your senator and congress person, and demand that social media and hi-tech corporations be brought to heel.
The US needs something comparable to the EU GDPR, and we need it soon. We need to seriously restrict the harvesting of data, and we need to seriously restrict how that data is used.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90570689/acronym-james-barnes-facebook-2020-campaign-advertising
Please, read the full article. It should be a sobering read, if it doesn't outright scare you.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday November 08 2020, @02:27AM (31 children)
He's not going to change. He sold his soul and he's so far gone that rather than attend to his granddaughter who's hospitalized with "flu-like symptoms" (read: caught the 'rona) he's still hanging out here flinging bile and paranoia by the 55-gallon drumful.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @02:45AM
Honestly he is a shill. An agent here to stir chaos and begin the rightwing radicalization process for gullible readers. His posting patterns are beyond strange.
I know you disagree, but that is my take. I believed you for a while, but as the election neared his post patterns became a lot more calculated. Fake personas to drag discourse towards their narrative.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @03:15AM (29 children)
I'm not sure that you're even human. Listen to the poison dripping from your mouth. You've gone completely around the bend.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @04:34AM (1 child)
haha, this new high road runaway is amusing and began around the time Biden was looking like a likely winner. suspeeshus
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @10:20AM
Runaway, with stupid dripping from his maw! The slightest nip will produce festering sores, and Fox News programs, much like the bite of the Komodo Dragon or Rupert Murdock. He is so vicious, so rabid, so infected! Do not approach the Runaway, use extreme caution, and if necessary, lethal force at close range. Do not let any slobber land on bare skin, or all is lost.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday November 08 2020, @01:55PM (11 children)
I assure you, I am completely human, with everything that implies both good and bad.
You've been oddly subdued and quiet since Trump lost. It seems like you're having trouble processing this, and perhaps some part of you is realizing just how much cost you've sunk thus far. If you want to keep yourself occupied, concentrate on preparing for those race riots you've insisted are going to end my life soon for being too white :)
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @02:18PM (10 children)
You stupid shit - I have real life issues, like anyone else. You certainly didn't miss the fact that one of the grandchildren is ill. Your humanity is in question.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday November 08 2020, @02:55PM (9 children)
Are you angry, Runaway? You're being awfully incivil :D
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @03:44PM (8 children)
You are about the most incivil person on this site. Anyone who disagrees with you will burn in hell. You have crossed the line from incivil to uncivil with your latest attacks.
Angry? More disillusioned than anything. As I've said, your very humanity is in question at this point.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @06:38PM
Hey now, it is your choice to be offended. Pathetic display of weakness, but what else might one expect from a cuck race theorist?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday November 08 2020, @07:58PM (6 children)
Disillusioned you say? Almost like you've been...cuck'd...by the people and party you support, all the while claiming not to support them? :)
I fucking warned you. And the fact that I'm taking pleasure in your discomfiture is proof that I'm human after all; humans can be nasty, nasty animals. Schadenfreude ist die schonen freude, and frankly, after your behavior over the last couple of years you have this coming and more. You have no idea what kind of bullet you just dodged, you nihilistic fucking idiot; had Trump won again, you'd have lost Social Security and Medicare just as you retire.
I wish the grandspawn the best of luck, though, for the simple reason that she's innocent of all this. It should be YOU gasping for breath in a hospital somewhere and staring down the barrel of a seven-figure hospital bill, not her.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @08:18PM (5 children)
*rolleyes*
Does all that poison regenerate constantly, or do you sometimes run out? Better take some extra vitamins and minerals before going to bed.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday November 08 2020, @09:09PM (4 children)
Yeah, someone's feeling cuckolded :D It's okay to admit it, everyone can see it anyway.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @09:24PM (3 children)
*rolleyes again*
Nope. You're reaching deep, and coming up empty?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday November 08 2020, @09:39PM (2 children)
You just keep replying! Here's a free clue: if I weren't hitting the mark, you wouldn't feel this compulsion to keep replying, and just minutes after each response, too.
Don't worry, I know you're irredeemable in this lifetime. I just want to see you debase yourself to the lowest possible level.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @09:51PM (1 child)
*drumming fingers*
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @10:08PM
Poor Runaway!!! Poor, poor Runaway! Poor, inhumane Runaway!!
Glad the grandkid is doing better, though.
In other news, Runaway remains a low information Soylentil. Something about a laptop. With emails.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @04:52PM (14 children)
"I'm not sure that you're even human. Listen to the poison dripping from your mouth. You've gone completely around the bend."
Frankly, it's rather bizarre to see your comment and then immediately below it see this sig:
"Are you a cuck race theorist?"
Are you familiar with the term "irony", by chance?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @05:06PM (10 children)
Yes, I am familiar with irony. We have a large segment of society who claims to be battling racism - while at the same time demonizing all people who share a European ancestry. Thanks for playing!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @06:44PM (4 children)
Ah, I see your confusion. Since such a large percentage of european descendants are racist you mistake anger over racism and other bigotries as actually attacks on your genetic ancestry. I do believe this is a manifestation of projection, and please be assured the criticisms are solely based on the intolerance of people, not their genetics.
Now that we cleared that up can you stop projecting conservative racism on to others? Do you feel less afraid knowing that you can turn asay from republazi ideology and magically not be the target of Azuma's mean mean words?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @07:02PM (3 children)
I suppose that you have some credible statistics to support a claim that some percentage of Euro-descendants are racist. Further, you have similar credible statistics to support some claim that non-Euro-descended people are racist to a much lesser degree?
That critical race bullshit just doesn't cut it. It's nothing more, and nothing less, than racist propaganda. Before you can even pretend to have such statistics as I ask for, you MUST concur that racism is racism, and that it is present in all demographics. African, Chinese, Indian, American, Native American, South American, indigous South American - no matter where you look, there are going to be prejudices. Racism is just one subset of prejudices, after all.
I'd be happy to take a look at credible discussions on that subject. Critical race theory is right out the door, Sport.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @10:20PM (2 children)
No, you would not. We all know this by now. You are a racist, Runaway! You also have no idea what you are talking about, when you repeat words like "Critical" and "Theory", and especially "Marxist". This is because you are marginally literate. You are just repeating things you hear on Fox News and Right-wing talk radio. We'll be happy to listen to you, when you actually know what you are talking about, Runaway.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @10:50PM (1 child)
So you have nothing when cuck race theory is dismissed. You wouldn't know what a credible study of racism looked like.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 09 2020, @03:06AM
Ooooohhh! You used those big words again! We are all so proud of you! But, if you recall, the point is to understand what they mean, not just mindlessly repeat them. Try again, Big Boy!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @10:15PM (4 children)
Oh, those fuckers! The David Duke, re-branded KKK, that is European ancestry? White supremacists. Obviously the result of too much inbreeding in some parts of the United States, making them stupid enough to belief such stuff. Seems it is always the white trailer trash, like Matt Heimbach [rationalwiki.org], that fall for this crap. Obviously possessed by demons of stupidity!! [dilbert.com] Eff 'em.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 08 2020, @10:22PM (3 children)
OK racist. You hate white people, we get it. Yes, that makes you a racist.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 09 2020, @01:10AM (2 children)
Just being of European ancestry does not make you "white". Europeans don't think of them selves as "white". To be "white", you have to be "non-black". and to be "black" you have to be of generic African ancestry, because you were forcibly abducted and sold by "white" people, who are only "white" because they are not "black". So to be "white", you have to be a racist slaver, or a descendant of the same, or a cultural legacy of such a racist system. You have to be an "American", or more specifically, an ex-Confederate American. Like David Duke!
So, I do not hate persons of low melanin. But I do despise anyone who would call themselves "white", because that means they are a post-bellum racist. Like you, Runaway! C'mon, the first step is to just admit it!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday November 09 2020, @01:23AM (1 child)
Wow. Sophistry in overdrive.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 09 2020, @03:08AM
You fucking racist cracker, Runaway!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2020, @05:32PM (2 children)
Critical race theory is racist propaganda being pushed by Marxists.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 09 2020, @07:47AM (1 child)
No, it isn't!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 09 2020, @07:50AM
Look, if you want to go on arguing, you'll have to pay for another five minutes!