It's no secret that Facebook tracks what you do on the social network. It knows the Pages you've Liked, the posts you've Loved or been Angry with, and it even keeps tabs on the characters you type, whether or not they end up in a post. So it shouldn't be too surprising to know that Facebook has used that information to make some educated guesses about who you are — including your interests and your political leanings.
As The New York Times reports, if you head to your Facebook Ad Preferences here, you can see all the topics Facebook thinks you're interested in. For me, the results included the 2016 Summer Olympics (true, and timely!), Dance (yes), and Bicycle (yes) under the initial Hobbies and Activities tab. Curiously, the topics Lion, Brick, and Colorfulness were also listed there — apparently, my clicks belie some subconscious penchants.
If you head to the More tab on the far right, then select Lifestyle & Culture, you can see even more about what Facebook "knows" about you. Here, things get more curious. For example, Facebook knows that I'm away from my family geographically. It also, based on my Likes and posts on the network, believes that with regards to U.S. politics, I'm "very liberal."
Naturally, as all this data is listed under its Ad Preferences section, Facebook uses this information to better target you with ads and promoted stories. Facebook correctly knows that, for me at least, it's much more likely to get a Like if it shows me something pro-Hillary or Planned Parenthood.
If you are offended by any of the topics Facebook thinks you're into, you can click on the upper right of its box to remove it, and thus alter the types of ads Facebook will show you. While the social network nailed my political leanings, it totally missed the mark on the "News and Entertainment" sources I like — guess it doesn't know everything about us.
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