Targeted Digital Voter Suppression, 2016, USA

The present study is part of a larger research project, Project DATA (Digital Ad Tracking & Analysis; PI: Young Mie Kim), that tracks digital advertising across multiple platforms, its sponsors/origins, content, targets, and effects by employing user-based, real-time, ad exposure tracking and associated user surveys, geographics, and verified individual-level voter turnout records. This study focuses on voter suppression ads by undisclosed groups, including foreign election interference campaigns, on Facebook during the 2016 US Presidential Election. The study investigates the targeting patterns of digital voter suppression and the impact of exposure to voter suppression on actual voter turnout.