Are Targeted Political Ads Deceiving Voters?

Social media companies collect huge amounts of data from us, then sell that data to advertisers. That's why we end up seeing personalized ads when we're online—ads that are tailor-made to tap into our specific personalities, preferences, and even fears. And when social media companies sell our data to political advertisers, the stakes get a lot higher. Many political campaigns use a tactic called "microtargeting" to send very specific messages to different voters. But can these ads actually persuade someone to vote for a certain candidate? In some cases, the worst of these ads might use disinformation or lies to damage a political opponent or—even worse—enable voter suppression.