Are reports that data vendors are selling ‘extremist scores’ substantiated?
There is no evidence that U.S. data vendors are selling “extremist scores” that characterize consumers based on such factors as political preferences or firearms ownership.
The claim is being published by various right-wing social media users, including the chief executive of GAB, an app challenging larger social networks with vows that it will not restrict or ban controversial posts by users or fact-check posts. The posts about the supposed scoring show a graphic with no onward links to a source or any other indication of its origin.
Both Google and Apple banned GAB from their distribution channels in 2017, citing violations of their rules on hate speech. GAB’s founder has recently protested restrictions on the company’s access to processing services for charges made on Visa-branded cards.
