6 ms·

How Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, Brexit funders, and others broke the law

46 points by mariedm 8y ago

save_ferris 8y ago
Am I the only one that hates reading what's essentially a full-fledged story via tweet-sized chunks that are smashed together? I get that Twitter is great for blasting small pieces of content into the world, but stitching tweets together into a a news story creates zero cohesion because Twitter doesn't allow users to write with form in mind.
- briandear 8y ago
  It's horrible. It's literally unreadable. The first "sentence": > that's interesting news: Aleksandr Kogan refused to be interviewed by ICO Commissioner Denham's investigation. Yes, same Kogan who allegedly with his equal partner, Joseph Chancellor, harvested 80+ million Facebook records and sold tens of millions to SCL/Cambridge Analytica. What's the ICO Commissioner's investigation? What's the ICO? Obviously I have the Google available to search, but this "Twitter as Journalism" needs to stop.
  - robjan 8y ago
    In the UK, where this tweetstorm was targeted, the ICO is well known - just like in the USA it is commonly understood what the IRS is.
- iscrewyou 8y ago
  I was so very confused! It seems like the website gathers all the tweets and turns them into an article. I was confused why the starting of the article was so odd. It’s ok to share information through twitter but don’t write an article out of the tweets please.
- throwaway5752 8y ago
  No, but it seems slightly ridiculous to complain about cosmetic things, given the message behind the structure of the piece.
  - Kurtz79 8y ago
    I'm almost not able to parse it at all. An article or even a blog post usually aims to prove a point, and it is structured to introduce the issue, make the author's point and give some conclusions. In this case the effort is all on part of the reader, to piece togheter what is the actual point being made, it's really not a "cosmetic thing".
    - throwaway5752 8y ago
      https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1059758943474454528 https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1059758943474454528
- BuildTheRobots 8y ago
  I found it very hard to read - especially as they seem to have made scrolling slower. On the flip side, I am thankful every paragraph links to the original tweet.
  - seapunk 8y ago
    Hi, creator of Threader here, can you tell me on what device/config you have the scroll issue?
gadders 8y ago
They also investigated the Brexit Remain campaign. I don't think anyone has clean hands in this.
- lordnacho 8y ago
  The question is what do you do when someone is found to have cheated on their campaign funding? You can fine them, throw them in jail, but what happens to the referendum result? If you don't have a do-over, people will learn there's not really a consequence. If you do, a lot of people who legitimately voted will be annoyed.
  - tonyedgecombe 8y ago
    Other people will be annoyed if you don't, there is no solution that pleases everybody or even a majority.
  - karmenblack 8y ago
    What if both sides were funded? Do you think people can't think for themselves?
    - ben_w 8y ago
      That’s a bad way of phrasing it. Democracy requires a well-informed electorate to function. If the electorate is badly informed or misinformed then it doesn’t function as a democracy, but as a (Propaganda-ocracy?). The complexity of the world that leads to economic specialisation also precludes informed decision making by a conventional electorate. I don’t have a solution to this yet. I don’t even know if there is a solution — I’ve heard that humanity has swung from democracy to aristocracy and back over the ages for this exact reason, but the very specialisation that has me concerned is also making me unsure about that. One of the modifications of democracy we discussed in A-level philosophy was getting one vote for existing, another for having a degree, another for being a parent, etc.
      - karmenblack 8y ago
hirundo 8y ago
> We are at a crossroads. Trust and confidence in the integrity of our democratic processes risks being disrupted because the average person has little idea of what is going on behind the scenes. ... This must change. Funny, I would have thought that it would be the integrity of our democratic processes that must change, and that trust and confidence in it were secondary effects. Also it seems overly optimistic to think that when the average person has a better idea of what is going on behind the scenes that their trust and confidence in the process would _improve_.
karmenblack 8y ago
If tweets can essentially vote and they assume people have no brains and can't decide for themselves then what's the point in having democracy at all? I am so tired of the rear hurt left wing moaners. They never investigate that Russian also fund their side to stir the pot whoever wins.
throwaway5752 8y ago
In case anyone would prefer to look at it the original format: https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1059758943474454528 https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1059758943474454528
ch4ck 8y ago
Democracy=when the voting results are in line with my vote. Populism=when they are not.

46 points by mariedm 8y ago

Am I the only one that hates reading what's essentially a full-fledged story via tweet-sized chunks that are smashed together? I get that Twitter is great for blasting small pieces of content into the world, but stitching tweets together into a a news story creates zero cohesion because Twitter doesn't allow users to write with form in mind.

briandear 8y ago
It's horrible. It's literally unreadable. The first "sentence": > that's interesting news: Aleksandr Kogan refused to be interviewed by ICO Commissioner Denham's investigation. Yes, same Kogan who allegedly with his equal partner, Joseph Chancellor, harvested 80+ million Facebook records and sold tens of millions to SCL/Cambridge Analytica. What's the ICO Commissioner's investigation? What's the ICO? Obviously I have the Google available to search, but this "Twitter as Journalism" needs to stop.
- robjan 8y ago
  In the UK, where this tweetstorm was targeted, the ICO is well known - just like in the USA it is commonly understood what the IRS is.
iscrewyou 8y ago
I was so very confused! It seems like the website gathers all the tweets and turns them into an article. I was confused why the starting of the article was so odd. It’s ok to share information through twitter but don’t write an article out of the tweets please.
throwaway5752 8y ago
No, but it seems slightly ridiculous to complain about cosmetic things, given the message behind the structure of the piece.
- Kurtz79 8y ago
  I'm almost not able to parse it at all. An article or even a blog post usually aims to prove a point, and it is structured to introduce the issue, make the author's point and give some conclusions. In this case the effort is all on part of the reader, to piece togheter what is the actual point being made, it's really not a "cosmetic thing".
  - throwaway5752 8y ago
    https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1059758943474454528 https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1059758943474454528
BuildTheRobots 8y ago
I found it very hard to read - especially as they seem to have made scrolling slower. On the flip side, I am thankful every paragraph links to the original tweet.
- seapunk 8y ago
  Hi, creator of Threader here, can you tell me on what device/config you have the scroll issue?

gadders 8y ago

They also investigated the Brexit Remain campaign. I don't think anyone has clean hands in this.

lordnacho 8y ago
The question is what do you do when someone is found to have cheated on their campaign funding? You can fine them, throw them in jail, but what happens to the referendum result? If you don't have a do-over, people will learn there's not really a consequence. If you do, a lot of people who legitimately voted will be annoyed.
- tonyedgecombe 8y ago
  Other people will be annoyed if you don't, there is no solution that pleases everybody or even a majority.
- karmenblack 8y ago
  What if both sides were funded? Do you think people can't think for themselves?
  - ben_w 8y ago
    That’s a bad way of phrasing it. Democracy requires a well-informed electorate to function. If the electorate is badly informed or misinformed then it doesn’t function as a democracy, but as a (Propaganda-ocracy?). The complexity of the world that leads to economic specialisation also precludes informed decision making by a conventional electorate. I don’t have a solution to this yet. I don’t even know if there is a solution — I’ve heard that humanity has swung from democracy to aristocracy and back over the ages for this exact reason, but the very specialisation that has me concerned is also making me unsure about that. One of the modifications of democracy we discussed in A-level philosophy was getting one vote for existing, another for having a degree, another for being a parent, etc.
    - karmenblack 8y ago

hirundo 8y ago

> We are at a crossroads. Trust and confidence in the integrity of our democratic processes risks being disrupted because the average person has little idea of what is going on behind the scenes. ... This must change. Funny, I would have thought that it would be the integrity of our democratic processes that must change, and that trust and confidence in it were secondary effects. Also it seems overly optimistic to think that when the average person has a better idea of what is going on behind the scenes that their trust and confidence in the process would _improve_.

karmenblack 8y ago

If tweets can essentially vote and they assume people have no brains and can't decide for themselves then what's the point in having democracy at all? I am so tired of the rear hurt left wing moaners. They never investigate that Russian also fund their side to stir the pot whoever wins.

throwaway5752 8y ago

In case anyone would prefer to look at it the original format: https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1059758943474454528 https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1059758943474454528

ch4ck 8y ago

Democracy=when the voting results are in line with my vote. Populism=when they are not.