3 ms·

Exactly. Moreover, the second sentence gets it entirely backwards >The previously little-known company, reporters claimed, had used behavioral influencing tec

by toss1 7y ago

Exactly. Moreover, the second sentence gets it entirely backwards >The previously little-known company, reporters claimed, had used behavioral influencing techniques to turn out social media users to vote in both elections. The major Cambridge Analytica push was not to increase turnout of supporters, it was to suppress and divert turnout of the opponent's supporters. E.g., finding black voters and highlighting Hillary's 25-year-ago comment on "superpredators", or pushing Jill Stein & Bernie Sanders as better options, promoting fallacies about the math of 1st-Past-The-Post voting -- all focused on the fence-sitters in key states, just make it feel to them like the real option is the one that helps Trump in 1PPP voting. Note that the success is shown in the margin by which HRC lost in the three states is about 20% of the people voting for Jill Stein, with zero chance to win in 1PPP voting. Between this massive misdirection in the opening paragraph, and the long but mildly interesting distraction on the 1700s "air loom" hoax, it safe to recognize this article as an attempt to emotionally undermine the CA story and ignore it.

dangerface 7y ago
> The major Cambridge Analytica push was not to increase turnout of supporters, it was to suppress and divert turnout of the opponent's supporters. I didn't want to say it in a post titled tinfoil hats but this, the dark market of political advertising is very real and very dangerous.
linuxftw 7y ago
> it was to suppress and divert turnout of the opponent's supporters. Surely you're aware that political mudslinging ads have been a thing since like, forever, right? > finding black voters and highlighting Hillary's 25-year-ago comment on "superpredators" Maybe don't say such crazy things, don't have to worry about someone calling you out on it. I don't recall her campaign ever addressing this issue, I don't recall any sit down where the media pressed her on the issue.
- toss1 7y ago
  Yes, I'm very well aware that this has been a thing since, like, forever. A fine example was in the 2000 South Carolina primary when Karl Rove working for Bush, distributed door-to-door flyers just ahead of the primary that implied that John McCain had an illegitimate black baby from an affair. McCain had actually adopted a child from Bangladesh. McCain lost the primary. Similarly with the HRC issue. It is one thing to have it in the news - or not, quite another to specifically harvest by 280 point tested psychological profiles the people who will be most receptive to changing their behavior by that argument, then silently targeting them in personalized advert campaigns that cannot even be discovered (FB doesn't make public the ads & targeting). This is about scalability - just like speeding tickets have been a think since, like, forever, but the cops have to be there, or at least post a camera. This is more like if they started handing out tickets via tracking GPS, for every second you exceed the limit. Same law/situation, scalable technology, entirely different implications.
  - mirimir 7y ago
    I've worked as a canvasser, and organized door-to-door campaigns. One of the key CA products was an app for canvassers, telling them about each home on their route. So they knew which homes to ignore, and what message to deliver for the ones worth hitting. And that both saved time, and arguably increased effectiveness.
    - toss1 7y ago
      excellent info - thanks!
  - kordlessagain 7y ago
    All this is doing is leading to the looming amplification attributed to social media and hyper-connectivity. Tipping something over when it is unstable is a decent strategy, but chances increase they'll get something squished at some point in the near future.
  - linuxftw 7y ago
    > It is one thing to have it in the news - or not If by "news" you mean gate-keeping establishments owned by very large conglomerates. There's very little local independent news for the average person. There is only politicized news. It's up to every individual to be their own arbiter of truth and morality. It's my opinion that both major parties in the US lie and deceive, so the things you're referring to have no special merit with me. Remember when Donna Brazile leaked the debate questions to Hillary? Hillary got up on that stage and lied to your faces. Manipulating voters is manipulating voters, the method is immaterial. The only solution is to let the system buckle under it's own weight. You, as an individual, have to admit to yourself and others that the system is rigged and full of liars, criminals, and cronies regardless of side.
mirimir 7y ago
Yes, exactly. This is a book review. But also propaganda. Almost a hit piece.

by toss1 7y ago

dangerface 7y ago

> The major Cambridge Analytica push was not to increase turnout of supporters, it was to suppress and divert turnout of the opponent's supporters. I didn't want to say it in a post titled tinfoil hats but this, the dark market of political advertising is very real and very dangerous.

linuxftw 7y ago

> it was to suppress and divert turnout of the opponent's supporters. Surely you're aware that political mudslinging ads have been a thing since like, forever, right? > finding black voters and highlighting Hillary's 25-year-ago comment on "superpredators" Maybe don't say such crazy things, don't have to worry about someone calling you out on it. I don't recall her campaign ever addressing this issue, I don't recall any sit down where the media pressed her on the issue.

toss1 7y ago
Yes, I'm very well aware that this has been a thing since, like, forever. A fine example was in the 2000 South Carolina primary when Karl Rove working for Bush, distributed door-to-door flyers just ahead of the primary that implied that John McCain had an illegitimate black baby from an affair. McCain had actually adopted a child from Bangladesh. McCain lost the primary. Similarly with the HRC issue. It is one thing to have it in the news - or not, quite another to specifically harvest by 280 point tested psychological profiles the people who will be most receptive to changing their behavior by that argument, then silently targeting them in personalized advert campaigns that cannot even be discovered (FB doesn't make public the ads & targeting). This is about scalability - just like speeding tickets have been a think since, like, forever, but the cops have to be there, or at least post a camera. This is more like if they started handing out tickets via tracking GPS, for every second you exceed the limit. Same law/situation, scalable technology, entirely different implications.
- mirimir 7y ago
  I've worked as a canvasser, and organized door-to-door campaigns. One of the key CA products was an app for canvassers, telling them about each home on their route. So they knew which homes to ignore, and what message to deliver for the ones worth hitting. And that both saved time, and arguably increased effectiveness.
  - toss1 7y ago
    excellent info - thanks!
- kordlessagain 7y ago
  All this is doing is leading to the looming amplification attributed to social media and hyper-connectivity. Tipping something over when it is unstable is a decent strategy, but chances increase they'll get something squished at some point in the near future.
- linuxftw 7y ago
  > It is one thing to have it in the news - or not If by "news" you mean gate-keeping establishments owned by very large conglomerates. There's very little local independent news for the average person. There is only politicized news. It's up to every individual to be their own arbiter of truth and morality. It's my opinion that both major parties in the US lie and deceive, so the things you're referring to have no special merit with me. Remember when Donna Brazile leaked the debate questions to Hillary? Hillary got up on that stage and lied to your faces. Manipulating voters is manipulating voters, the method is immaterial. The only solution is to let the system buckle under it's own weight. You, as an individual, have to admit to yourself and others that the system is rigged and full of liars, criminals, and cronies regardless of side.

mirimir 7y ago

Yes, exactly. This is a book review. But also propaganda. Almost a hit piece.