Commentary

Facebook Delivers Ads Based On Race And Gender Stereotypes, Researchers Say

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development charged Facebook with violating civil rights laws that prohibit discriminatory housing ads.

The government's complaint included the allegation, which is familiar by now, that Facebook's targeting tool allows advertisers to block their ads from people based on their race, religion …

4 comments about "Facebook Delivers Ads Based On Race And Gender Stereotypes, Researchers Say".
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  1. Douglas Ferguson from College of Charleston, April 5, 2019 at 9:54 a.m.

    Pre-publication research awaiting peer review (which is the case with this new manuscript) is not really "research" yet. Research is not real until it appears in a refereed publication. If asked to review, I would ask where the advocacy ended and the research began.

  2. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, April 5, 2019 at 10:32 a.m.

    A seed company puts an ad into a gardening magazine. Anyone can buy the magazine and see the ad. THAT is the way digital MUST work. It is not. If they cannot figure it out, then they cannot accept ads. It is their job. Total random ads is not what they want. We get it. You share something with your friend about gardening and then bombarded with ads about seeds is not what the public wants - the bombarding. And it proves your "sharing" is being monitored and there is a privacy issue. The process may have to go back to the original - the inidvidual opts to get gardening information and the seed ads appear. Not as much profit for the deliverer i.e. fbeast in this example, but certainly a more discerning audience.

  3. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, April 5, 2019 at 3:23 p.m.

    Just heard today, they are in even more trouble with proof they are selling your info to 2nd, 3rd and more parties when they said they weren't and knew they were. Lyning to congress = jail. 

  4. PJ Lehrer from NYU, April 6, 2019 at 12:08 p.m.

    Yes.  That's right. 

    But, the seed company puts that ad in that magazine knowing that ~80% of readers are females 55+.  When an advertiser buys football on tv they get 60% males between the ages of 25-45.  No one seems to be getting on their case for eliminating a gender they are not interested in reaching.

    Why is digital being held to a higher standard because they have more accurate data?  Rest assured print and tv are trying to do the same for their advertisers.  No one wants to pay for waste - i.e. eyeballs they don't want to reach.  And soon they won't have to.

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About the Author

Wendy Davis is a Senior Writer at MediaPost. You can reach Wendy at wdavis@mediapost.com

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