Cambridge Analytica + Psyops + The Beast

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
also I like all of us I'd bet have no actual idea about the truth of CA's claims in re its own efficacy but I wouldn't be surprised if they're bullshit

the whole thing has always come across a bit like snake oil
 

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
Obama was widely lauded for his use of big data and campaign analytics
that is 100% true I remember it quite well. also universally favorable contrasting it w/the Romney's campaign lack of same.

obv no one was accusing his campaign of stealing data etc, but it also speaks to how much more innocent the world was about these issues just 6ish years ago
 

vimothy

yurp
also theres something fundamental about the modern web here. it's based around targeted, data-heavy, quasi-surveillance-state advertising. with the CA scandal you can pretend thats an abuse of the platform rather than its essence.
 

droid

Well-known member
alrite, different from Bernays, who wouldn't have freelanced for the USSR. but is CA really the first play dirty/psyops private sector election contractor?

Beyond CIA etc coups I don't really know the broader history of election influencing, but I suspect not

continue to think the only real significant innovation is big data/data science.

I honestly cant think of another instance of non-state directed electoral interference, allowing of course for the fact that this may not be non-state at all.
 

droid

Well-known member
This is the argument for effectiveness.

The company’s head of data, Alex Tayler, added: “When you think about the fact that Donald Trump lost the popular vote by 3m votes but won the electoral college vote that’s down to the data and the research.

“You did your rallies in the right locations, you moved more people out in those key swing states on election day. That’s how he won the election.”

Another executive, Mark Turnbull, managing director of Cambridge Analytica’s political division, was recorded saying: “He won by 40,000 votes in three states. The margins were tiny.”
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Keep on wondering/hoping that the Brexit connection will come to the fore. Similarly tiny margins - I recall Dominic Cummings crowing about how clever he'd been with his use of "quants" I can't remember his terminology exactly but its suspiciously vague - I bet he's regretting opening his trap now.
 

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
with the CA scandal you can pretend thats an abuse of the platform rather than its essence
fundamentally true + an important point. otoh this is so big/egregious that it's not surprising it's becoming the face of that unpleasant truth.

i.e. if everyone is doping but you win the TDF 7 times in a row (+ you're also a massive jerk) you're going to become the face of doping.
 

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
This is the argument for effectiveness
ya I've seen it. could be true, sure. same w/Brexit.

otoh political scientists are uniformly quite dismissive. granted maybe they would be, big data/microtargeting could be a disruptive thing for them, but still they are.

ofc could be the case that CA is overrated/not v effective in general but still tipped the margin in 1 or both of these instances.
 

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
About 11% total drop now, on top of the loss of new US users for the first time ever in January
there's also the argument out there that FB stock was highly overvalued + was due for a correction either way

from what I see Wall Street etc opinion seems to be highly divided on FB rn

anyway, I'm not saying it's not very bad, just too soon to call. if this continues, we'll see.

the market is kneejerk, this is something that will continue to play out for months/years
 

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
I honestly cant think of another instance of non-state directed electoral interference
there is something about combining basically private military contractor (psyops division) + PR firm election consultation into one thing

the point in the Guardian about Russian flipping Silicon Valley - traditional huge U.S. soft power vector - back on the U.S. is pretty interesting, almost personal

the siloviki finally getting revenge for the samizdat + bootleg jeans
 

droid

Well-known member
there's also the argument out there that FB stock was highly overvalued + was due for a correction either way

from what I see Wall Street etc opinion seems to be highly divided on FB rn

anyway, I'm not saying it's not very bad, just too soon to call. if this continues, we'll see.

the market is kneejerk, this is something that will continue to play out for months/years

I agree. It just feels like there's something in the air...
 

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
something in the air...
I agree it feels like there could be. just v hard to envision an entity the size/influence of FB really going away at this point.

if anything can do away w/FB I'd imagine it's the inevitable tech disruption cycle as something new - some VR/AR, AI, thing - comes along

but ya definitely some people are gonna get fired and/or indicted
 
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Woebot

Well-known member
i started watching that man talk on the guardian website and had switch him off after about 23 seconds.
 
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