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Helaine Olen Contributor


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Social Networking, Facebook And The Vote

The surveillance state is coming to a voting booth near you, thanks to a creepy alliance between political campaigns and popular social networking sites that resembles nothing so much as a lost chapter from a George Orwell novel.


1984 (Photo credit: Axel Schwenke)

Charles Duhigg at The New York Times reports on how both the Obama and Romney campaigns are turning to market research and data mining in an effort to boost voter turnout in their favor. The campaigns have now moved behind the traditional snooping  - you know, the sort of stuff where they figure out that those who patronize Red Lobster are more likely to vote for Obama, while those who prefer Olive Garden are more likely to favor Romney. No, they now demand volunteers turn over their social media profiles. Data specialists will then request that they contact designated friends, those they believe are likely to support their candidate thanks to dining at certain restaurants, or listening to a particular type of music, but need a nudge or shove or some other action given a clever nickname the better to disguise what is essentially a massive invasion of privacy so that they actually turn up at a polling booth. Then …

In the weeks before Election Day, millions of voters will hear from callers with surprisingly detailed knowledge of their lives. These callers — friends of friends or long-lost work colleagues — will identify themselves as volunteers for the campaigns or independent political groups.

The callers will be guided by scripts and call lists compiled by people — or computers — with access to details like whether voters may have visited pornography Web sites, have homes in foreclosure, are more prone to drink Michelob Ultra than Corona or have gay friends or enjoy expensive vacations.

And if a voter resists the pressure and decides to sit the election out on their couch?

After these conversations, when those targeted voters open their mailboxes or check their Facebook profiles, they may find that someone has divulged specifics about how frequently they and their neighbors have voted in the past. Calling out people for not voting, what experts term “public shaming,” can prod someone to cast a ballot.

But not to worry! Both campaigns says they absolutely do not plan to engage in pinning the Scarlet V on possible supporters who let them down. That, my friends, is what superPACS are for, that is, the anonymous corporate and personal money flowing into the political process in the wake of the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court. As one Democratic party consultant told Duhigg, “They don’t have to put anything on the flier to let the voter know who to blame.”

Now we know why Facebook is not making any effort to curb the increasing invasions of privacy that are occurring as a result of more and  more consumers are using the site. They know no one in Washington is going to take action to stop it. Why would they? Politicians are doing it themselves.

Finally, a personal note: if anyone does this to me you can assume this is the last friendly phone call or other connection we will share. I imagine I am far from alone in that sentiment.


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