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1A Remaking America: Targeting voters with data

Campaign signs compete for space during the first day of early voting in the state outside the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Campaign signs compete for space during the first day of early voting in the state outside the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Political spending is at an all-time high. Campaigns will spend almost $10 billion this year on advertising, according to AdImpact.

And they’re making sure that money is well spent. Political candidates and their ad agencies are targeting you on streaming and social media platforms based on what podcasts you listen to, where you buy clothes online, and what restaurants you eat at.

What are the rules? And in a world where every digital step we take is tracked, how much should we care? We get into who’s behind this spending and how far down the ballot it goes.

This conversation is part of our Remaking America collaboration with six public radio stations around the country. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

 

Copyright 2022 WAMU 88.5

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June Leffler
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