Cambridge Analytica Quotes

“The display, which was called 'Can Democracy Survive the Internet?' was dedicated to a 'global election management' company called Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica claimed to have gathered 5,000 data points on every American voter online: what you liked and what you shared on social media; how and where you shopped; who your friends were... They claimed to be able to take this imprint of your online self, use it to understand your deepest drives and desires, and then draw on that analysis to change your voting behaviour. The boast seemed to be backed up by success: Cambridge Analytica had worked on the victorious American presidential campaign of Donald Trump; it had also run successful campaigns for US Senator Ted Cruz (twice); and others all across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America.”
― Peter Pomerantsev, This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality

“Imagine an alien, Fox said, who's come here to identify the planet's dominant form of intelligence. The alien has s look, then chooses. What do you think he picks? I probably shrugged.
The zaibatsus, Fox said, the multinationals. The blood of a zaibatsu is information, not people. The structure is independent of the individual lives that comprise it. Corporation as life form.
Not the Edge lecture again, I said.”
― William Gibson, Burning Chrome

“In the Hype Machine, everyone is a digital marketer, whether we’re fighting for ideas or for consumer dollars.”
― Sinan Aral , The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health--and How We Must Adapt

“That same mayor, after his viral performances, will publicly declare he will not run for president. This push creates a vacuum and a perceived loss. His network, however, continues to flood feeds with his staged heroism and with amplified voices from the public desperately calling for him to lead. After a carefully timed period, the pull begins. He reverses his decision, now framed not as personal ambition but as a humble surrender to the people's will. He presents his candidacy as a response to our collective cry. This complete act of political gaslighting... makes the public believe they authored a candidacy that was meticulously manufactured from the start.”
― E. Ravago, Bansang Pinipilas