Cambridge Analytica

In fact search for something strange and look how your selected adverts subaequently change on Bluemoon!
 
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bluethrunthru said:
That was my thought - but then when you think about it the established politicians and media have been roughed up by the new ways of getting the message out to the people which by passes them and so the "wrong" people prosper - think Trump, Leave and Corbyn - and when you consider that angle and you can see why what is really a storm in a teacup is being whipped up by all those established sources - I think they somehow think they can "kill" the internet.
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Not sure I agree. The fundamental difference is that when a message is disseminated through traditional media, it is out in the public for other people to analyse, counter or debunk. These individually targeted social media ads don't offer any such avenue for debate; political analysts and opponents can't rebut a point if they don't know what points are actually being made to the crucial swing voters that really matter.

I have no issue with commercial organizations using these tactics to get us to buy a particular brand of car, clothing, food etc., but I think it should be off limits for political campaigns.
 
Dubai Blue said:
Not sure I agree. The fundamental difference is that when a message is disseminated through traditional media, it is out in the public for other people to analyse, counter or debunk. These individually targeted social media ads don't offer any such avenue for debate; political analysts and opponents can't rebut a point if they don't know what points are actually being made to the crucial swing voters that really matter.

I have no issue with commercial organizations using these tactics to get us to buy a particular brand of car, clothing, food etc., but I think it should be off limits for political campaigns.
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Yeah but for decades political parties have distributed leaflets, knocked on doors and canvassed and tailored their arguments to individuals 1-2-1 - nobody evesdrops what a candidate says to YOU on YOUR doorstep and rebuts what they say. In any case within a very short space of time things that are being disseminated on line ARE reported in the mainstream media - the mainstream media who themselves also have an on line presence and are as guilty as anyone in the end for being part of any jiggery-pokery going on.

I think personally its fine - its up to the individual to soak up the info and process it and formulate their opinions. How that info is received - on screen or paper - makes no difference to the lazy, stupid or ignorant. Those people are open to manipulation anyway.

As for commercial organisations using it personally it is counter productive for me - if everything I do gets interrupted by an advert for Volvo or Kelloggs then come car renewal time Volvo go to the bottom of the list and I find out own brand cornflakes are just as good and save me money - if a I kid kept interrupting what I was doing demanding I paid them attention they would get short shrift and on line advertisers get the same from me.
 
Seems the use of this company goes further than Brexit and Trump and why nothing will be done to stop it.

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bluethrunthru said:
Yeah but for decades political parties have distributed leaflets, knocked on doors and canvassed and tailored their arguments to individuals 1-2-1 - nobody evesdrops what a candidate says to YOU on YOUR doorstep and rebuts what they say. In any case within a very short space of time things that are being disseminated on line ARE reported in the mainstream media - the mainstream media who themselves also have an on line presence and are as guilty as anyone in the end for being part of any jiggery-pokery going on.

I think personally its fine - its up to the individual to soak up the info and process it and formulate their opinions. How that info is received - on screen or paper - makes no difference to the lazy, stupid or ignorant. Those people are open to manipulation anyway.

As for commercial organisations using it personally it is counter productive for me - if everything I do gets interrupted by an advert for Volvo or Kelloggs then come car renewal time Volvo go to the bottom of the list and I find out own brand cornflakes are just as good and save me money - if a I kid kept interrupting what I was doing demanding I paid them attention they would get short shrift and on line advertisers get the same from me.
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Some fair points there. Although they're able to target many, many more people through these ads than they were ever able to reach through knocking on doors. There's also the point that a lot of these messages are individually tailored; they won't make it to the mainstream media because relatively few people actually see them, meaning they don't get widely discussed.

As for the commercial ads, I couldn't agree with you more. The most annoying are when I've already bought something but it continues to be pushed at me on every website I visit (flights, holidays and phones being the main culprit).
 
Trevor Morley's Tache said:
If this whole saga reveals anything, then it highlights that any of these surveys online are just marketing tools, which get you to give away your personal details for free.

"Enter your details to find out which Hollywood hottie you are compatible with", or "Who's cat are you" Facebook surveys are just a bit of fun right?

Wrong!!!

You might as well hand over your latest bank statement, or credit history to a marketing company. It is no coincidence that these surveys ask pretty specific details, such as age, gender, sexual preference, earning bracket, political allegiances, profession, etc. They sell this information to the highest bidder, who use it for all sorts of things, including political research/targeting, and in this case, possible criminal activities.

Who knew?
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Bang on.
Add to that list 'free' bets, charity scratchcards on the plane and the shop staff that ask for your postcode when you buy a pair of socks.

One point to note with CA is they harvested the info of 'friends' of those daft enough to get stung. And i'm sure we all have a 'friend' on facebook that is.
 
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