Assume no russian interference, could Trump have won just using facebook ads smarter than Hillary. This article suggests yes.
Plotting Russians make for a good story, and external enemies frequently serve an internal purpose, but the trail of blame often leads much closer to home. It’s right there, topped by a big, blue bar on our smartphone screens, and could very well be how you arrived at what you’re reading right now.
Note that this article was written before the Cambridge Analytica revelations, an organization that has probably helped tremendously with obtaining even greater precision targeting than with the regular Facebook tools.