Political adverts 'Microtargeting ditched for big spending splurge

Don't expect to see Cambridge Analyticastyle microtargeted adverts political driven by personal data during this general election: the tactic is now considered by many to be an ineffective "red herring" and is increasingly being blocked by social media platforms.

- Jim Waterson

The digital strategist Tom Edmonds said Facebook had banned political campaigns from using many of the tactics deployed in past contests. "Running a campaign aimed at 500 people didn't earn them much money and just got them loads of shit," he said.

Edmonds, who ran digital campaigns for the Conservatives in the 2010s, said this general election would instead be defined by parties spending tens of millions on online adverts designed to reach as many people as possible. "It's got to the stage of being like TV advertising it's top-level messaging."

Microtargeting is based on the idea that adverts are more effective if they are hyper-relevant to a person's precise interests and political views. In theory, political parties could use Facebook user data to send one advert to a Lib Dem-voting dog owner who dislikes cycle lanes and is concerned about bin collections, and show a completely different advert to their Tory-leaning neighbour of the same age and gender who is mainly worried about the state of the NHS and immigration.