The Data That Turned the World Upside Down

[UCmeNdc]

Psychologist Michal Kosinski developed a method to analyze people in minute detail based on their Facebook activity. Did a similar tool help propel Donald Trump to victory? Two reporters from Zurich-based Das Magazin went data-gathering.​

Snip

On November 9 at around 8.30 AM., Michal Kosinski woke up in the Hotel Sunnehus in Zurich. The 34-year-old researcher had come to give a lecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) about the dangers of Big Data and the digital revolution. Kosinski gives regular lectures on this topic all over the world. He is a leading expert in psychometrics, a data-driven sub-branch of psychology. When he turned on the TV that morning, he saw that the bombshell had exploded: contrary to forecasts by all leading statisticians, Donald J. Trump had been elected president of the United States.

For a long time, Kosinski watched the Trump victory celebrations and the results coming in from each state. He had a hunch that the outcome of the election might have something to do with his research. Finally, he took a deep breath and turned off the TV.

Snip

On the same day, a then little-known British company based in London sent out a press release: "We are thrilled that our revolutionary approach to data-driven communication has played such an integral part in President-elect Trump's extraordinary win," Alexander James Ashburner Nix was quoted as saying. Nix is British, 41 years old, and CEO of Cambridge Analytica. He is always immaculately turned out in tailor-made suits and designer glasses, with his wavy blonde hair combed back from his forehead. His company wasn't just integral to Trump's online campaign, but to the UK's Brexit campaign as well.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/how-our-likes-helped-trump-win

[dalton99a]

1. Kick.

[stuffmatters]

2. Mercer's Cambridge Analytica's ties to Brexit,Trump & potential for evil cannot be underestimated

[Madam45for2923]

11. This so f*cking much!

[Egnever]

3. That was a frightening article

Thank you for posting it.

[FakeNoose]

4. Is this the guy who hacked our voting machines?

That's why Hillary lost the election. It was stolen from her.

Voting machines were hacked in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and possibly Florida. (I read somewhere that North Carolina might have been hacked too.)

It would be nice to know if this is the guy who did it. But I really think the Koch brothers hired some Russian programmer-hackers who did it all undercover. So this Cambridge Analytica guy had better stay out of it.

Just sayin'

[sharedvalues]

5. No, it's the guy who hacked our media

Or rather, the guy that hacked the way Americans receive and trust information.

As Hillary said, Russia and the GOP used social media to lie to Americans. That soured people on Hillary and kept them home from the polls.

We KNOW that social media strategy was used by GOP and Russia. The FBI told us!


For now, focus on what we know happened - we are in an information war and we are losing. We need to focus on and protect the truth.

[flying rabbit]

6. Read the article. nt

[FakeNoose]

10. I believe you missed my point

I did read the article and he's not the reason why Trump won the election.

Trump won because our voting machines were hacked in 4 or 5 key states.
All the rest is fluff.

[Nevermypresident]

7. OMG, I knew they used data to microtarget voters, but I had no idea they used

anything but social media. So Cambridge Analytica has personal psych profiles on each registered voter in the U.S.??!!!!!!

This combined with planting false stories is beyond dangerous to our democracy. Experts say they only way we can combat it is to educate American voters against it. Not feeling confident that will happen.

Between the above, false ads and Russian bots, I'm concerned. Also, they are able to use "dark posts" to microtarget certain voters that the rest of us couldn't see.

On a positive note, France managed to avoid electing Putin's puppet.

[yardwork]

8. Everybody should read the entire article. It's amazing and important.

[KewlKat]

9. kick