But the US has found this year that online ads on media like Facebook, rather than posts, are a cost-effective way to fight the jihadist propaganda of the Islamic State and other such groups. "Using Facebook ads, I can go within Facebook, I can grab an audience. He said that the detailed user data that social media giants collect is crucial in identifying his target audience, on the social media that they prefer. "That's why these Facebook ads that I mentioned are kind of a fundamental change for us: for very low investment we can be highly targeted towards the enemy." Facebook, he noted, offers the government access to affordable amassed and collated user data for singling out target groups and individuals for the anti-extremism ads the US government runs.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 18, 2016 00:10 UTC