Not all cookies come to you warm, straight out of the oven. Some are algorithms that get stored in your web browser.
These types of cookies play a huge role in targeted advertising. They’re the reason you see ads on Facebook and Twitter that seem specifically chosen for you. They are also part of the reason marijuana is legal in Alaska and Oregon.
According to Fusion, digital advertising company CampaignGrid has spent the past five years gathering information on how people feel about marijuana legalization. Their cookies determine the likelihood of a potential voter being pro-legalization and reflects a score. Pro-marijuana groups then use these scores to promote targeted advertising to voters.
Depending on how likely you are to be in favor of legalization, you could see an ad encouraging you to get out and vote or nothing at all.
The strategy is an old one for selling consumer goods, but the application of this technique to politics could “upend the old models of voter persuasion.”
Check out the full story over at Fusion.
