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| Home Front: Politix |
| Cambridge Analytica - All hype now is it ? |
| 2018-03-27 |
| [The Federalist] If you believe what you read, the Cambridge Analytica story is a blockbuster. It is a tale of intrigue and data breaches and manipulation on a mass scale, the sort of thing ripped from the type of paperback spy thriller you discard without a thought after a plane trip ‐ except real. But if you ask anyone from the world Cambridge Analytica tried to inhabit ‐ the highly competitive world of data consulting ‐ about what Cambridge was offering campaigns, the story that emerges is very different. It is transformed into a story about our increasingly credulous media ‐ apparently incapable of understanding how Facebook, the very entity that drives so much of their traffic, actually works ‐ and how journalists are eager to believe the worst about anything, even humdrum data mining, in the age of Donald Trump. "This is the real world, not a spy novel. And in the real world, what Cambridge Analytica was promising simply doesn’t work," said Republican data consultant Patrick Ruffini. "Their role was downgraded on every major campaign they’ve worked on, including the Trump campaign and the Cruz campaign, when it was clear they couldn’t deliver on what they were selling. These concerns were well known in Republican circles prior to 2016." "At the end of the day, Cambridge offered nothing more and nothing less than a standard data science program with a brilliant marketing campaign wrapped around it," Ruffini said. "That hype has now caught up to them." Parent Company 'SCL Group' (link to Wiki page and snippet below) - You decide: After an initial commercial success, SCL expanded into military and political arenas. It became known for alleged involvement "in military disinformation campaigns to social media branding and voter targeting".[7] According to its website, SCL has participated in over 25 international political and electoral campaigns since 1994.[4] Moving on to evil foreign gov't regime changes: SCL’s involvement in the political world has been primarily in the developing world where it has been used by the military and politicians to study and manipulate public opinion and political will. It uses what have been called "psy ops" to provide insight into the thinking of the target audience.[6] SCL claimed to be able to help foment coups.[8] According to its website, SCL has influenced elections in Italy, Latvia, Ukraine, Albania, Romania, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Colombia, Antigua, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Trinidad & Tobago.[4] While the company initially got involved in elections in the United Kingdom, it ceased to do so after 1997 because staff members did not exhibit the same "aloof sensibility" as with projects abroad. Hence the Cambridge Analytics 'spin off.' SCL claims that its methodology has been approved or endorsed by agencies of the Government of the United Kingdom and the Federal government of the United States, among others.[9] |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #3 Perhaps he went to Kenya for an exam. Oh, 2012 was it? Wasn't Hilarity in Kenya then, trying to sell Chelsea off to an African prince? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-03-27 12:54 |
| #2 More from the Mail on this harmless, British based data-mining firm. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-03-27 08:23 |
| #1 If you believe what you read... I'm afraid the implied prohibition is equally applicable to this article. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-03-27 07:10 |