How Do Politicians Know Everything You Click On The Internet?

Every internet user worldwide is in this huge network. He leaves a footprint every second. Which sites you visit, which posts you like and follow on social media, your shopping preferences and much more are processed in countless data libraries.

All of your personal data on the Internet has been used by the political circle in any country for many years. We say without exaggeration that your data also shapes the world of politics. Starting from the very core of the business, from the purposes of use to where your data is obtained and how it is processed. we tell everything.

Possible usage scenarios of your data by politicians:

• Creating the demographics of citizens on the internet
• Predetermining the view to which citizens are inclined
• Determining the issues to be brought to the agenda in any environment, regardless of rally or social media
• Planning how to convey these issues with discourse
• Learning real-time reflection of every discourse and every action made
• Analyzing competitor supporters’ interests and opinions
• Predicting the possible reflection of every sentence to be said in any environment in society
• Creating audience and platform-specific ads through targeted advertising

Of course, since the job is to appeal to the whole country, the purposes of use may not be limited to these. Citizens including their dependence on opinions and parties, how open they are to change their minds, the background and orientations of a person applying to the party. many details can be revealed with these data.

“How is that possible?” Let’s start with the basic question for those who say: How is the data obtained?

Of course, in order for the above-mentioned and many more potential uses to become reality, first of all, it is necessary to have data. Alright, How does this data get into the hands of politicians? The answer to this question is not limited to one place.

Customs officer of the Internet “cookies”:

If you log in to Webtekno.com or any domestic/foreign website today, you will see a message. ‘cookies’ window pops up. Although cookies are specific to the website you visit, they can also belong to third-party services on the same pages.

Although the cookies belonging to the websites vary depending on the site, they are mostly used by the sites such as security, searches, login. operation of critical functions. provides. Again, depending on the website, especially in e-commerce platforms, your every click, every mouse movement, every product you visit is recorded through these cookies.

Third-party cookies, on the other hand, include cookies that are integrated with the website you visit but do not cover the functions of the site. These cookies are usually yours, not just on a website. your activities on all websites. is recording.

Third-party cookies, often used by websites to third-party advertising and content services it belongs. The Google ads section on the majority of websites is shaped by these cookies, and you are shown special ads.

In fact, the majority of the data library is created by these third-party cookies. As an individual, you may be underestimating the impact of clicking on a product or content. But data from hundreds of thousands of people like you creates a huge library, categorizes and identifies people.

We will talk about this process later. For now, let’s end this section with: Every website, In accordance with laws such as KVKK and GDPR It has to clearly state the purpose of use of cookies and obtain consent from the visitor for its use. You can see an example of this on Webtekno.com as follows:

Social media platforms:

When you visit a website, become a member of social media platforms, and interact on these platforms, not a single penny comes out of your pocket. However, let us remind you that the main purpose of any platform is “people have fun, pass the time” not. Everything has a price.

By creating an account on social media, you can provide your name, surname, e-mail address, telephone number, address, age, place of birth; You reveal your interests with an innocent like, your opinion with an innocent comment, and your goal and ideal with an innocent share. Each of these actions and much more is recorded by the platforms.

Social media platforms also make money in this way. It sells and trades non-sensitive user data collected by you to organizations with purposes such as analysis and advertising.

How big is the data from social media and how it shapes the political environment? Cambridge Analytica – in the example of Facebook we have seen.

To summarize, the data obtained from Facebook users without permission was processed by the analytics company Cambridge Analytica and used for Donald Trump’s election campaign. You can learn the details from the content at the end of our article.

Any service on the Internet can also sell your data:

The Internet is not just an environment limited to social media and sites. Campaigns and interest in your e-mail addresses, surveys you fill, donations you make, subscriptions you are a member of and much more. to cumulative databases being added.

Imagine a world with data being sold, here you are:

In Turkey, which has a population of 84 million, 74% of the population is internet users, according to ICT data. If worldwide, this number 5.16 billion. You are a grain of sand in 64.4% of all humanity.

Databases host every piece of information belonging to these 5.16 billion users. Where we live, what food we like, which famous names we follow, what views we adopt… Moreover, this data is updated every second!

We reminded again of the greatness of the Internet, now let’s move on to the next stage.

So, how is “meaning” extracted from the collected data, in other words, how is the data processed?

Clicks, likes, comments, shares, the sites you enter, the channels you are a member of. All these, taken on their own, do not offer much insight into a person or society. Because of this, Thousands of analytics companies like Cambridge Analytica has been established. (Of course, we should mention that Cambridge was closed after the scandal.)

Analysis companies add meaning to the data with special algorithms they have developed or purchased from another company. These algorithms are, in a very simple way, “If the person likes and follows this, but also browses these products and buys these books, that’s their opinion.” says.

Here are the same analysis companies, the processed data, where people are identified and categorized according to each scenario, to political parties and those parties are working with. advertising companies and other organizations selling.

In the same way, parties or intermediaries can send their special requests to analysis companies and enable algorithms to provide them with specific data. For example, voters are categorized according to their opinions, with the support of artificial intelligence Campaign suggestions can also be submitted.

A campaign is being developed that aims to increase support in line with the voter identities obtained from analysis companies. Ads are created within the framework of this campaign, Via Google Ads and scientific advertising services These ads are shown to the targeted people on the appropriate websites, at the appropriate date and time interval determined by the data.

Data is also obtained from paid advertisements. What types of users click on these ads, which audience shows the most interest, and at what hour they get more feedback…

Of course, ads are just one use case. You can imagine the same and similar process for all the usage scenarios we mentioned at the beginning of our article.

Does all this effort work in Turkey?

“Published by Ahmet Tan and Barış Armutçu”Digital Political Marketing in Turkey” research gives a clear answer to this question. The research, which also examines the 2018 Presidential elections, includes the following result:

“It is seen that political parties and party leaders have an advantage over other political parties and party leaders in election campaigns where they use political marketing and digital marketing elements effectively.”

“Can I avoid having my data used?”

Let’s be honest: No, if you’re using the Internet. Even if you are not usingEven a friend or relative may be sufficient to transfer your data to the internet.

All the details about the Cambridge Analytica scandal:

Political accounts that spend the most money on Facebook and Instagram ads:

Resources: