Topic: Psychographic Marketing

Psychographics, currently treated as a modern "evil" buzzword, actually originated in the 1970s direct marketing industry as an evolution of demographics. By analyzing magazine subscriptions and mailing lists, marketers created personality profiles to target specific consumers. The segment argues that Cambridge Analytica's methods are simply a digital version of long-standing advertising techniques used to predict consumer and voter behavior.

ProPublica conducted an investigation revealing that Facebook's automated advertising platform allowed users to target ads toward anti-Semitic interest categories such as "Jew-hater." The report introduces the concept of psychographic marketing, where advertisers use proxies to reach specific subgroups. NPR disclosed during its coverage that Facebook provides funding for some of its video content.