QUESTION:

Does Facebook track your political affiliation and let advertisers target you?

ANSWER:

Yes, Facebook uses an algorithm to keep tabs on the political Facebook pages, events and places you check into.

SOURCES:

Facebook Settings

Facebook Business (for advertisers)

PROCESS:

Facebook--it was once all anyone talked on, but now it's all anyone's talking about.

The company's facing turmoil after its lax privacy model (which formerly let third party vendors access to information on not just you but your Facebook friends too), allowed Cambridge Analytica to data mine 50 million accounts.

People online are now claiming that Facebook has been tracking their political usage and predicting their affiliation.

Our Verify team fact-checked these claims and found out it's TRUE.

By logging into Facebook and going to Settings> Account Settings> Ads> You Information> Your Categories, you can see Facebook has labeled you as one of the following:

"Very Conservative"

"Conservative"

"Moderate"

"Liberal"

"Very Liberal"

They use an algorithm to chart your political usage on Facebook--anything from pages you and your friends like, to information on your Instagram and rallies you've checked into, according to Facebook.

So if you were "interested" in March for Our Lives, "follow" Paul Ryan or "liked" a pro-life rally, Facebook knows.

Facebook says tracking and labeling political activity allows the company to "help advertisers reach people who are most likely to be interested in their products, services, and causes. "

It's valuable to political campaigns who pay Facebook to target specific demographics.

To ditch Facebook from tailing you, turn off political ads by going to "Ad settings." Facebook says you'll still see the same quantity of ads, they'll just become more generic, and less customized to your interests.