You Might Be Surprised How Much Political Campaigns Know About You
DENVER (CBS4)- The coronavirus pandemic has changed how political campaigns are targeting Colorado voters this election. They're spending a record amount of money on digital advertising and data mining.
From text messages and emails to Facebook feeds and live streaming apps, you can't escape the political ads these days. If some of them seem tailor-made for you, it's because they probably are.
Both parties have compiled vast reservoirs of information on voters that allows them to microtarget ads, emails and texts.
"We all have a digital DNA footprint," said Chris Lopez owner of Zepol Media Partners, a digital advertising firm in Alamosa.
He says digital advertising has become increasingly microtargeted as Republicans and Democrats collect and buy massive troves of information about us.
"We share a lot about ourselves, a lot of personal information on social media whether it's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest."
From your hobbies and religion to your purchase history and gym membership, political data brokers can plug your information into algorithms to make all kinds of inferences about you -- from how likely you are to vote to what motivates you -- giving parties unprecedented ability to target ads, emails and texts.
They not only know how to reach you, but Lopez says, when to reach you.
"You'll put in the system and say, 'okay, I want these people in the morning, and I want to test it in the evening and see what my open rates are,'" Lopez said explaining part of the process for a digital advertisement.
And, he says there's little you can do to stop them from mining data on you, "The only way to limit it is to not be online. Never to go on the internet (and) stay off the internet."
The 2020 election is the most expensive ever. Spending will top $14 billion according to the Center for Responsive Politics. One billion dollars has been spent on Facebook and Google ads alone.
