In the wake of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, it is timely to review the state of the debate about the impact of data-driven elections and to identify key questions that require academic research and regulatory response. The papers in this collection, by some of the world’s most prominent elections researchers, offer that assessment.
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Discussing three factors that characterise the activities of political campaigners, this article demonstrates variations in who is using data in campaigns, what the sources of campaign data are, and how data informs communication.
This article highlights what we know about the empirical effects of data-campaigning in political campaigns and how those findings fail to live up to claims about its power.
Personalised political messaging undermines voter autonomy and the electoral process. Use of voter analytics for political communication must be regulated.
Will the same cross-device technologies that track our journeys through the commercial marketplace now follow us into the polling booth?
Focusing on whether data-intensive technologies used in political campaigning are accurate and effective misses the point about their larger role in politics. This piece briefly addresses the popular question of “Does it work?” and suggests a series of questions and provocations that aim to more holistically capture the extent of tech-led
Ad archives are a novel tool in online advertising governance. They promise significant benefits, but only if their operators address key criticisms.
This essay argues that we have anxieties about micro-targeting because we have anxieties about democracy itself.
The Brazilian 2014 elections were the first to heavily apply Whatsapp as a micro-targeting tool. This paper aims to test the effectiveness of Whatsapp compared to more traditional approaches. First, we find that short videos delivered via WhatsApp are a powerful method of increasing turnout among teen voters. Second, we add Brazil to the list of
This article reveals restrictions on micro-targeting and data-driven canvassing in parliamentary democracies with strict data protection laws.
