Small Project:
Hacking the Electorate
The goal of this assignment is to have you think about the concept of perceived voters by looking at Facebook Ads being run by a 2020 presidential candidate. Although we don’t have access to the actual data that candidates are using to decide who to target their advertising to, we can get a sense by looking at who the candidates are targeting and what they are saying there. The Illuminating 2020 Project analyzes the Facebook and Instagram ads that the 2020 presidential primary candidates have been running. The site shows data from Facebook on the age, gender, location, impressions (the number of people who saw/clicked on the ad), and cost of the ads, combined with the team’s own algorithms that categorize the type of message in the ads. The site currently shows ads from candidates who were running as of February 1, 2020 to the present.
Task:
1. Visit the Illuminating website:
Illuminating.ischool.syr.edu/campaign_2020.
a. Pick 1 candidate to analyze.
b. Pick 1 week (7 days) to analyze the candidate you chose (between Feb. 1, 2020 and this week).
c. Consider these elements of the site: Message Type, Audience Gender, Audience Age, Audience Location, and Most Expensive Ads for the candidate over that week.
2. In the essay, answer these questions:
a. Who is your candidate targeting (age, gender, location) during that week?
b. What type(s) of message is your candidate saying to their target audience? Are they mobilizing supporters, trying to persuade “persuadables,” or something else?
c. What sorts of data do you think your candidate is relying on in their decision of who to target with their Facebook ads?
Write:
Your essay should follow this format:
1. 1 paragraph introduction that ends with a thesis statement that succinctly conveys who the target audience is for the candidate you chose.
2. 3 to 4 paragraphs that describes the candidate and the dates you chose and answers 2a and 2b (above) using concepts from class lectures and the book.
3. 1 to 2 paragraphs that answer 2c using concepts and ideas from class lectures and the book.
4. 1 paragraph that concludes the essay by recapping your essay.
Note: The grade rubric details how you will be evaluated. Review it for further clarification on the evaluation criteria.
Requirements:
● Maximum of 1000 words.
● You must reference
Hacking the Electorate. Use APA citation style and include a bibliography.
● Attach screen captures as an appendix to your assignment and bring print outs of the screenshot(s) to class the day the assignment is due.