This seemed inevitable. People lamented the growth of fake news and niche circles reinforcing extreme attitudes on the internet. Ads exist because they effectiv

This seemed inevitable. People lamented the growth of fake news and niche circles reinforcing extreme attitudes on the internet. Ads exist because they effectively target increasingly small and specific groups of people. Its concerning enough when the motive is profit, but the same techniques can be applied to much greater effect as propaganda. The real concern is when those reinforcing themes are applied to individuals, instead of large swaths of people. Using Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and other data aggregators exposes you to manipulation. It can be convenient when it shows you relevant ads and the motivation is clear (money). But by the time you realize you're being manipulated for greater causes, like electing officials to power, its far too late to revert those changes.