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Targeted Political Messages and Voter Persuasion in Democratic Systems

The upcoming médialab seminar is co-organized with the Centre for Socio-Political Data (CDSP) and will be presented by Sanne Kruikemeier (Wageningen University & Research). She will explore whether the new technologies available to political candidates pose a threat to democracy.

Event, Research Seminar

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Salle K.011, 1 place Saint Thomas d'Aquin 75007 Paris

Abstract

Persuading voters is at the heart of any political campaign. Advances in technology are offering new opportunities for candidates to reach out to voters. Political campaigns today combine data-driven voter research with personalized political advertising and use online microtargeting techniques. 

In this context, in the talk, Kruikemeier will explore whether these techniques are a threat to democracy. It will study the effects of data-driven microtargeting and digital persuasion to identify under which conditions and to what extent they affect citizens’ attitudes, opinions, and voting decisions. Using a mix of research methods and taking a comparative perspective, the project will assess the benefits and risks.

Biography

Prof. dr. Sanne Kruikemeier (Wageningen University & Research), a guest researcher at the CDSP (her stay is supported by funding from the French government, managed by the National Research Agency under the France 2030 initiative, reference ANR-22-EXES-0014), is Professor of Digital Media and Society and co-founder and director of the Digital Data and Democracy Lab. 

Her research examines how digitalization affects society and democracy, with a particular focus on data-driven political targeting, social media and polarization, online political communication, news consumption, and digital journalism. Kruikemeier employs both well-established methods, such as longitudinal surveys, (eye-tracking) experiments, physiological measures, and content analysis, and innovative approaches, including mobile Experience Sampling Methods combined with data donation, automated content analysis, and digital tracking. 

She currently holds an ERC (on the impact of political targeting) and VIDI grant (on the role of social media in affecting polarization), and her research has been funded by several national and international science foundations.

Practical informations

This seminar will be held in person and in English, on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, in Room K.011, 1 Place Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, 75007 Paris.

Registration is mandatory via this link.