By Jeffrey Adams
The extent of data mining to drive voter behaviour is finally out. The Guardian clinched an interview with Christopher Wylie, a sharp young tech who helped establish Cambridge Analytica, the data mining firm. Alt Right media guru Steve Bannon was his boss, and Robert Mercer the US multibillionaire, the investor. This firm is being investigated in how it helped propel Trump to victory as well as links to LeaveEU. The net is closing in.
I wrote an article in Orkney News on this topic last year. Shampoo and Brexit It was very detailed, too detailed perhaps to be effective. The mention of Cambridge Analytica was omitted from the Orkney News for good reason. The firm were suing The Guardian at the time for their suggestion of illegal voter influence, and I didn’t think Orkney News needed a law suit.
But concerned by the parallels of the messaging between the Brexiteers and the Trump supporters, I wanted to see what could be done to help. My German friends were heading into an election and although it seemed too late for the US and the UK, there was a chance to make a small difference in Germany maybe. So we produced a step by step guide showing how to remove election advertising from Facebook. It was clearly marked under advertising interests as “election” but it took 12 steps to remove it. Who would know to do that if they weren’t deliberately looking?
What needs to happen now, is a full investigation into micro targeting of voters in the Brexit referendum and the General Election of 2017. Investigation also needs to happen in Germany, where I believe similar tactics were deployed. Germany had a shock election result when the hard right party, AFD, gained a significant amount of seats mostly in former East Germany. Like the Brexit referendum voters, voters had switched from center left parties to a hard right party- Immigration being the key message.
Nigel Farage spoke at the AFD conference before their election, and given the investigation in the UK now,German authorities would be wise to check if citizens’ data has been used by the AFD to get ahead.
Rather like the UK General Election 2017, what struck me about the German result was the geography of the voters who shifted to the fringe right wing party. In Germany the map looked like this.
German Federal Election Results 2017 By Original Author – Furfur via Wikimedia Commons
A clear East West divide.
In the Brexit referendum there was also a geographical divide.
By Mirrorme22 Nilfanion: English and Scottish council areas TUBS: Welsh council areas Sting: Gibraltar via Wikimedia Commons
A clear North South divide and division by countries.
The GE 17 had some shocks with seats of the SNP big hitters turned over to Tory.
Look at the geographical split.
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right via Wikimedia Commons
The Aberdeen area – oil industry and key fishing area turned blue.
Did these areas receive bespoke messaging? Were anti CFP and fears of a hard border between England and Scotland exploited? Who is trying to sow division among European countries ?
The response to some of this may translate in people exiting Facebook in disgust and distrust. I don’t blame them. But targeting was not only digital. It was on posters and billboards like the now infamous Leave poster with £350 million for the NHS on the side of a bus.
It shocked me when I saw the same things happening here in Germany. One poster for AFD read ” We prefer bikinis to Burkas“
My town had AFD boards on every third lamp post saying “Because Offenbach is not Tanzania”
The messaging for AFD was crass, in your face, glossy and American produced. A firm in Texas ran the advertising for the German AFD with humour that read like a lad’s mag that disguised a sinister race related message. Have Steve Bannon et al exported their movement for a more right wing world to the rest of us?
What now for Scotland’s Indyref2 ?
I sympathize with the passionate pleas from Indy supporters for the Scottish Government to call the referendum now. Some YES supporters are weary of what they see as SNP inaction, or an administrative feel to Nicola Sturgeon. “We need Indy & we need it now”
But I am going to be controversial and say we need to wait.There is not enough known about micro targeting to be confident voters are protected.
If Germany is anything to go by, it is not just digital campaigning that could be deployed.Clever targeted messages could pop up everywhere. I am talking about posters coming to a lamp post near you covered in Union Jacks and stirring emotion that could be dangerous if it all spills over. Indy supporters are one of the most informed group of voters, but one hurdle is how to speak to others outside the movement. Digital marketing and clever ads can do just that- and fast and often.
If a firm link is established between data gathering and Leave EU, that is a gift to the Indy movement. It says the UK Government cannot protect us from election meddling. If evidence is found that the GE17 micro targeted Scottish seats for Tory gain, then the SNP have a huge opportunity to tell the people of Scotland they have been manipulated and it is time to go.
Let’s give our Scottish Government time to do their research. The population needs to catch on and our lawmakers need to catch up.
Then, we will be ready.
Categories: Uncategorized
Where do I begin? I’ll begin with people – we are such a suggestible species – the advertising agencies know that. It can be disheartening, when you look at how easily folk are swayed – very disheartening. I have said before, in comments to articles in TON, that I believe democracy to be the best option we have – it’s flawed, mainly because of…the public! BUT – I do believe it to be the best option available. BUT….it does mean that people can be swayed by brash, glamorous ‘humorous’, non-sense in relation to important matters, or, equally, swayed by sneaky, subtle stuff that they are not even aware of. Beware of sneaky.
A few years ago, I was having a conversation with one of my Great-nephews, about the whole Facebook/Twitter business – he was complaining about how he’d noticed that his information appeared to be used in ways that he hadn’t agreed to. My answer was simple – if you weren’t on Facebook, they couldn’t do that. Simple – don’t do it – don’t do Facebook, or Twatter. They’d still get information about you, but not handed to them on a plate!
Just don’t take part in the whole charade, was my advice– don’t do Facebook, Twatter or any of them. Emails are useful, that can’t be denied, but – the rest of it? Do you really need to do it, especially considering the possible implications for your personal privacy and the public availability of your information?
Did he take any notice? I doubt it – he’s young, and Facebook etc. particularly appeals to the young, who have a mis-guided idea that they are somehow ‘missing out’ if they don’t take part in that stuff. They are missing out – missing out on a lot of yammering, non-sense, rubbish and nastiness! I tried – that’s what Great-aunts are for!
So, that’s people and how they are, which is the root of the problem. And now – Facebook.
I wrote this to a friend, on the 16th August, 2012.
“Facebook? – I have a Facebook rant. I’m agin’ it, for so many reasons. For one thing, it’s changing how people inter-act with each other, making human inter-action much more trivial , superficial, and…silly! Which doesn’t help the general trend that way, in the modern world. It’s all, so, wrong, in so many ways. A few years ago, I gave in, and attempted to join Facebook, just to see the photos from the Orkney Blues Festival, but, not far into the process, I was presented with a load of people that I might like to ‘friend’ on Facebook! being, pretty much all the folk I know, who are on Facebook. So, somehow, somewhere, some computer, can collate all this information, of who I email and connect with through the Inter-net, and present me with this list of people I know, who are on Facebook… I question that, and also, well, they are the people I already connect with, so why the hell, should I want to connect with them on Facebook? I find this whole aspect of it, questionable, and slightly sinister. I don’t go in for conspiracy theories, but…………it’s not right. Especially when there is now a possibility of the government being able to monitor all that we do, on the Internet. I was recently at a party, where I was speaking with a woman from Germany, and she said she’s not on Facebook, as that aspect of it, is even worse, in Germany. Can’t help saying, yes, they’ve been there, before. This is how it happens, people join things and take part in things, without questioning, and next thing you know, you have a fascist state, where you have to do what you’re told, and your neighbours start to mysteriously disappear. I’m not joking. Have you seen the film ‘Cabaret’? A film, with very many messages, as well as good music. So, Facebook. Not on it, never will be. But will probably continue to have arguments with people about it. One of the recurring arguments, seems to be, that I should be on it, because everyone else is!!!!!!!!??????Eh?! As my dear old, much quoted Mum used to say “Because everyone sticks their hand in the fire, does it mean that you do, too?” Obviously, not!
I can see the point in having a website, for folk with something to offer, such as art work or c.d.’s or whatever.
Folk seem to forget, that it’s the Internet, it goes all over the world. What they place on Facebook, can be read, by anyone on Facebook. The whole thing, is wrong. It’s eroding real, human, inter-action.
I’ve heard of ‘people’ ( hesitant to use the word) breaking up with their other half, by text – which I just said was a cowards way out, and she was better off without him. Apparently, that’s now even happening, through Facebook. That’s even worse, as it’s so public. What is wrong with these people?
Someone has to point out, that we’re heading for 1984, so I’ll keep on doing so.”
And now………………..it’s all coming out!
This is worth watching……………………