Article by Innohub
Microtargeting, according to Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), is “a form of online targeted advertising that analyses personal data to identify the interests of a specific audience or individual in order to influence their actions”.
This form of advertising works through electronic tools such as the well-known “cookies”, which track virtually all of your online actions through files that websites install on your computer to store your preferences. In this way, they organise, target and design advertisements and commercial messages based on your interests and profile.
It is often closely related to Big Data, market research and STP Marketing, since by analysing and providing companies with huge amounts of data on our desires, needs and characteristics, it allows them to target their products, messages, strategies and sales campaigns more efficiently.
So how is microtargeting related to fake news?
Well, as there are companies specialising in data analysis to offer you these personalised advertisements, security issues arise with respect to your personal data, privacy and the use and collection of data itself. But beyond that, there is also the possibility of targeting advertising campaigns – and fake news about them – to profiles that are more susceptible or vulnerable to the information they contain.
The most notable example relates to the political sphere, and specifically to the 2016 United States presidential election. In this case, Cambridge Analytica, a company that worked for Donald Trump in 2016, acknowledged that it collected and manipulated the data of 50 million Facebook users in order to develop election strategies in the run-up to the elections. Thus, with the collection of all this data, it was possible to create specific groups based on personality. These data and profiles were classified into groups in order to “attack” the group that could be more influential or persuadable through more precise and effective messages so that they would change their votes. Although it may seem harmless, these actions are decisive in the presidential race and the future of a country.
How can I limit microtargeting?
Although many companies have begun to restrict access to this microdata, the power of microtargeting can still be a threat to the public, so, within our means, we should learn to put in place preventative measures such as:
- Analyse the media and subscribe only to reliable sources.
- Be aware of the existence of fake news groups
- Install plugins on your computer to detect fake news.
- Carefully select the browser or search engine you use on the Internet.
- Avoid using applications and websites from a single company.