Discussion on Political Microtargeting
Over the last couple of years the internet has grown to become a powerful platform. The internet has presented itself as an ideal model used in most topics discussed in class. Within the vast span of the net are opportunities for network phenomenons to be amplified. One of these processes that happen on a large scale is that of diffusion and how information becomes cascaded across a network. We learned about networks where a decision made by each node is based on who you are connected to, how many of your friends adopt the behavior, and the payoffs from a decision. Sometimes ideas don’t result in a complete cascade as creators would have liked. One solution to this frequent problem is to target reluctant nodes, or people through targeted advertising.
Political candidates have taken advantage of this strategy to microtarget certain voters through social media to directly influence their voting decision outside of a natural cascade in their networks. Internet giants such as Google have taken action against political targeting. Critics express their feeling of privacy invasion, but more importantly bring up how the new policy fails to address a greater problem of the spread of false information. Systems such as pageranking and popularity models help keep the spread of false information prevalent. Someone creating a fake page that publishes false information that gains enough “buzz”, becomes more popular, and more visible, earning it more visibility. Greater visibility means more exposure and more people believing the information to be true. The users further amplify the information through both human and automated networks to “sow division and spread falsehoods.” This idea of “fake news” has become so widespread and problematic. However to address and fix the issue requires a revisit to the network phenomenons guiding interactions and exchanges across the internet and a potential reframing of social networks as we know it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/us/politics/google-ads-disinformation.html