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Technology

Facebook charges more for ads that aim to cross the political divide

By Chris Stokel-Walker

11 December 2019

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are political opposites

Alamy Stock Photo

Facebook charges more for left-wing political campaigns to advertise to people with right-wing views, and vice versa, which may be exacerbating political polarisation.

UK political parties have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds in the run-up to the general election tomorrow, and one in five dollars that went on political adverts in the US in 2018 was spent online. But new research shows that political advertisers in the US have to pay more to reach beyond their core voting base.

The researchers spent more than $13,000 to promote various…

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