Facebook, with hundreds of millions of users, will start using Big Data to gauge public feelings on issues and candidates.
In an announcement this week, the company said is sharing the info with ABC News and BuzzFeed for reporting ahead of the 2016 elections.
The social media giant announced it is beginning to data-mine posts of Facebook users in the United States ages 18 and older, writes Hadas Gold of POLITICO. It will then organize the information about politicians or issues, classifying them as positive, negative or neutral.
Data, once collected, can be separated by gender, location and so on, to provide a snapshot of Facebook users – particularly in crucial primary states of Iowa or New Hampshire – and their feelings on issues like same-sex marriage or individual presidential candidates.
“Given the volume of conversation around politics on Facebook, we believe this data truly represents what the American people think about the potential candidates,” said Andy Mitchell, Facebook’s director of news and global media pPartnerships.
“We’re excited to partner with ABC News and BuzzFeed News, who will both bring their unique journalistic perspective to this data,” Mitchell added.
Another Facebook spokesperson tells Gold that the data will be “aggregated and depersonalized manner in a privacy safe way.”
ABC News will use Facebook data starting next week for its 2014 Election Day coverage, as well as focusing on 2016 presidential candidates. BuzzFeed will also apply the data for ongoing stories on issues, and as part of its news app.
“Facebook is going to be a central — maybe the central — arena in which political conversation happens in 2016,” said BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith. “We’re thrilled to have a glimpse at what America is thinking, and excited to share it broadly with our readers.”
In a recent Pew study, 48 percent of Americans get political news from Facebook, 14 percent on YouTube and only 9 percent get it from Twitter, despite its popularity with politicians.
“We are always looking for new and interesting ways to tell stories and engage with viewers, said ABC news president James Goldston in a statement. “This rich trove of data will allow us to do just that — helping us identify the most important trends and the most stimulating conversations happening around the 2016 election cycle.”
