Using a Personality-Profiling Algorithm to Investigate Political Microtargeting: Assessing the Persuasion Effects of Personality-Tailored Ads on Social Media

Abstract

Political advertisers have access to increasingly sophisticated microtargeting techniques. One such technique is tailoring ads to the personality traits of citizens. Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of this political microtargeting (PMT) technique. In two experiments, we investigate the causal effects of personality-congruent political ads. In Study 1, we first assess participants’ extraversion trait by means of their own text data (i.e., by using a personality profiling algorithm), and in a second phase, target them with either a personality-congruent or incongruent political ad. In Study 2, we followed the same protocol, but instead targeted participants with emotionally-charged congruent ads, to establish whether PMT can be effective on an affect-based level. The results show evidence that citizens are more strongly persuaded by political ads that match their own personality traits. These findings feed into relevant and timely contributions to a salient academic and societal debate.

What are political parties doing on TikTok? The Spanish case

“…Social media's disintermediated nature provides the chance to bypass media gatekeepers, communicating directly with citizens (Dolezal, 2015; Manfredi-Sánchez; Amado-Suárez; Waisbord, 2021). This direct communication, building on tailor-made strategies (Quinlan et al, 2018;Naper, 2016) and microtargeting (Zarouali et al, 2020), allows the establishment of almost personal relationships with citizens, enhancing the interaction between the public and politicians (Dimitrova;Matthes, 2018).…”

Effects of Incidental Brief Exposure to News on News Knowledge While Scrolling Through Videos

“…Incidental exposure to such media can badly affect people's knowledge and belief [35], [36]. Additionally, in video hosting services and online video ads, displaying news video contents controlled by algorithms fitting in audience preference (personalization) [73] may amplify the biased incidental brief exposure in contrast with randomly incidental brief exposure on non-internet television and ABEMA. Many people experience such personalization without the detail knowledge of algorithmic personalization [72].…”

Measuring Automated Influence: Between Empirical Evidence and Ethical Values

“…Some researchers have explored these questions in experimental settings. For example, Zarouali et al developed a mock social media platform to test whether psychographically targeted political ads were more persuasive than generic ones, and find that to a significant degree they were [109]. Some attempt to measure such effects more directly: Valenzuela and Michelson use randomized control experiments to measure the impacts of tailored messages on voter turnout (finding that certain kinds of identity appeals do increase turnout), and validate the results using real-world turnout data [97].…”