The impact of Facebook on elections: myth or fact?

Can Facebook influence a country’s elections? The impact of Facebook on Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has long been debated. And it does not appear to be a myth.

Facebook, like other social networks, has evolved from a place for friends and acquaintances to a tool for influencing elections in any country around the world. This is why politicians do pay close attention to Facebook.

But why is there such a great deal of interest in Facebook?

The answer is straightforward. Facebook is a goldmine of personal information, and companies are eager to harvest it. This includes political parties that use your data to make targeted ads based on your psychological profile.

Facebook is an excellent tool for analysing the demographics of the candidates, no matter how different and diverse they are.

It is well understood that any political party seeking to win elections must gain the support of the public.  Therefore, it must address the problems faced by young people without neglecting the elderly.

The masses also have fears and hopes for their country; so, if a political party is able to precisely identify these fears and hopes, it can use them to win elections.

From here, Facebook is a great way to find out about the candidates’ backgrounds, no matter how different and unique they are. Anyone can gather a lot of information from Facebook, including users’ hobbies, career choices, and political ideas, and use this information to persuade people to vote for a certain political party.

A goldmine of information

If someone wants to collect this information, they can browse Facebook and look at people’s personal pages. However, what if there was another way to save him the trouble of conducting such a long and tedious search?

What if there was a different way to encourage users to voluntarily provide this information?

Facebook is a goldmine of personal information, and companies are eager to harvest it.

If there is one thing that social media users adore, it is these excellent personality tests that enable individuals to identify their weaknesses and strengths by answering questions such as “which Harry Potter character most closely represents you?”

And how exciting the reactions will be when these users share the results of those tests with their friends, who will rush to take the same test to see what score they will receive for their personality traits.

But do they realise that the results of those tests are monitored by experts?

Analysts who look at personality tests look at five main traits in the people who take them: openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism. They can describe people and learn about their psychological tendencies by reading about these five traits.

Now that analysts have created a profile of a country’s citizens, they can share that information with political actors.

Politicians and targeted ads

But how do politicians use that data to influence voter behaviour?

The answer is simple: advertisements. Because politicians have a psychological map of their target audiences, including what they like and dislike. They can then use these points as a strategic platform to influence them by using targeted ads that match information about the target audience’s profiles.

Your information is more valuable than the results of a test you do not know will be used against you in the future.

For instance, if your psychological profile indicates that you fear crime, you will see advertisements on your Facebook page promoting a political party as being against crime and as the only candidate who can eliminate crime and stop criminals. And if you prioritise your family above all else, you will see advertisements claiming that a certain party leader cares more about family issues than any other leader.

Is there a way to avoid becoming entangled in such whirlpools?

Necessary precautions

We can’t live without social media, so it’s probably not worth telling you to delete your Facebook account. But the advice might be to use your account with care and take the necessary precautions.

Personality tests are definitely interesting and fun, but you should be careful if you feel like the test is getting too personal. If the question is “which superhero do you enjoy the most? Spider-man or Superman?” or ask for your email address, name, date of birth, or other personal information, you should not fall victim.

Facebook has evolved from a place for friends to a tool for influencing elections in any country.

You should not voluntarily submit your personal information to these tests, regardless of how many of your friends have taken them and posted their results.

Your information is more valuable than the results of a test you do not know will be used against you in the future or for a purpose you do not like or desire.