Social Media as an Echo Chamber

 Now that I have gone over a few of the historical examples of media influencing campaigns, it's time to look at the negative side. Unfortunately, most social media platforms skew what kind of political ads we see. 

Meta have admitted to using our likes as a way to garner certain ads. They do this on both Facebook and Instagram. While this seems like a logical way to gain information on our politics, it can be very dangerous. 

Because of how our likes and dislikes are used to show us content, social media becomes an echo-chamber for political discourse. Meaning that if you post something about your political party, those who see it, like it, and interact with it are most likely going to be with those who agree with you. The same goes for campaign ads. Social platforms are most likely going to show you ads for who they suspect you support, based on your activity. 

While tailoring certain ads to certain people (pet products, menstrual products, etc.), can be beneficial, I would argue that our political ads need to be randomized or at least less targeted. 

Cite: https://www.facebook.com/help/562973647153813