what does today's influence industry tell us about tomorrow's digital democracy?
A vast, largely unregulated global industry uses personal data to give political campaigns insights into who voters are, what they want to hear and how to persuade them.
This is a look at the tools, resources and services they use to influence your opinions – and your vote.
Collecting data
Profiling people
Reaching audiences
Raising money
Building and implementing strategies
Assessing impact
The tools of the influence industry are given many names – some obvious, others not.
This graphic shows 230 different tools advertised on the websites of more than 500 companies who offer their services to political campaigns and candidates.
collecting
Data
Buy, obtain, swap or scrape data about voters or potential voters.
Offered by:
Valuable information is supplied to campaigns by large data brokers, tech platforms, government records, party databases, voter files, lists, polls and surveys.
Profiling
people
Analyse data to create detailed profiles about potential voters' behaviours, political leanings, personalities and values.
Offered by:
Data analytics firms, research firms, tech companies and others claim to offer unique data-driven insights into audiences.
reaching
Audiences
Send potential voters messages and advertisements that might appeal to them, based on their profiles.
Offered by:
Communications agencies, brand agencies, digital advertising companies, AI start-ups and large tech platforms offer numerous digital tools that can be used to create and deliver targeted messages.
raising
money
Solicit support from large and small donors and raise funds to spend on digital campaign tools and strategies.
Offered by:
Companies, app designers, customer relationship management platforms and consultants specialise in techniques to recruit donors and facilitate donations.
Building and implementing strategies
Organise campaigns, create appealing messages, mobilise voters and volunteers.
Offered by:
Private consultants, large consulting firms, ad agencies and brand agencies offer all the tools and resources needed to run a successful campaign.
Assessing
impact
Test to see if strategies are working and change them if necessary.
Offered by:
Analytics and data firms offer various tools and methods to evaluate if their techniques are working, and optimise them if they are not.
Find out more about how your personal data is used in elections and what you can do about it:
influenceindustry.org
Visit the Opinionator in-person at the Futurium in Berlin, or find out more on the Futurium website:
futurium.de