Facebook changes will prevent 2016 candidates from replicating Obama's social media success
President Obama's 2012 campaign made ample use of the detailed targeting powers of Facebook, raising some $690 million and registering more than a million voters through their custom Facebook app — but his successor won't be able to do the same.
One of the most important features for the campaign was the ability of app users to give the campaign their friends list so the Obama team could "run those friend lists up against the voter file, and make targeted suggestions as to who [supporters] should be sharing stuff with." The app would suggest to users exactly which friends they should target with campaign content — i.e. "Share this video with Susie who lives in Iowa" — the ultimate personal touch in marketing.
If that sounds a little creepy and invasive, don't worry: In the next presidential election, candidates won't have the same capabilities. Facebook no longer allows app makers to harvest entire friend lists; instead, campaigns will only be able to get lists of friends who are already using the app in question. Needless to say, campaign strategists are already searching for a workaround.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
5 timely cartoons about climate change denial
Cartoons Artists take on textbook trouble, bizarre beliefs, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Kris Kristofferson: the free-spirited country music star who studied at Oxford
In the Spotlight The songwriter, singer and film-star has died aged 88
By The Week UK Published
-
The Chagos agreement explained
In Depth Ceding the islands to Mauritius could allow China to gain foothold in the Indo-Pacific, experts have warned
By The Week UK Published
-
States sue TikTok over children's mental health
Speed Read The lawsuit was filed by 13 states and Washington, D.C.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Amazon ending 'Just Walk Out' grocery checkout
Speed Read In its place, the company will let customers scan while they shop with Amazon Dash Cart
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suit
Speed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
House votes to force TikTok to sell or face US ban
speed read The House passed a bill to ban TikTok on national security grounds unless it sells to a non-Chinese company
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Apple kills its secret electric car project
Speed Read Many of the people from Project Titan are being reassigned to work on generative AI
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cellphone use may be lowering sperm count
Speed Read Electromagnetic radiation could be affecting male fertility
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Nasa reveals first findings from asteroid that could explain origins of life
Speed Read Sample from Bennu has been found to contain an abundance of water and carbon
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
NYPD to monitor Labor Day parties using surveillance drones
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published