When one combines high end analytics/data mining with political dirty tricks, the end result is Cambridge Analytica.
The data mining company Cambridge Analytica, which is owned by the billionaire Robert Mercer, made headlines for a second time in less than a week. On Monday Britain's Channel 4 News broadcast the results of a four month long investigation into the company. The explosive report shows the company's CEO Alexander Nix bragging about using dirty tricks to entrap politicians. Here's a short clip from the program.
NEWS REPORT: After a four-month undercover investigation, tonight a glimpse into how they really operate. Prepared, it seems, to ruin their clients' opponents through handouts and honey traps. Through sex, secrets, and spies.
It get better.
Joining me now to discuss the Channel 4 report on Cambridge Analytica and related matters is Bill Black. Bill is a white collar criminologist and former financial regulator and Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri Kansas City. He is the author also of "The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One." Thanks for joining us again, Bill.
Bill Black: Thank you.
GREG WILPERT: Bill, What is your initial reaction to these latest revelations about Cambridge Analytica dirty tricks?
BILL BLACK: So, Americans understand the Koch brothers. But if you distilled the Koch brothers down to the absolute essence of evil then you'd have the Mercer father-daughter team. They want to produce a world that's authoritarian and they want to produce a world that is nationalistic, along the lines of, basically, pure blood and those types of things. And they've taken over this entity Cambridge Analytica that used to be just sort of a regular company. They purged all of the moderates. So it's deeply, deeply right wing.
But it's more than that. It's, basically, you have to think of these people as mercenaries, as in mercenaries in the old days that would go in and take over a country by force of arms. Now they do it in a more sophisticated fashion. They have no country that they believe in. Former spies type such, but they are entirely out for power and money in these areas.
BRT talked about CA, with homage to Edward Bernays, the father of propaganda, in a piece titled Data Set, which, in indirect ways, shows how CA helped Trump become POTUS by leveraging data garnered from Facebook in ways that boggle the mind.
Addendum: Here is the 5 part Channel 4 News video series on CA's excellent adventure.
Edward Bernays
No comments:
Post a Comment