The Electoral Art of Stealing Memories--Cambridge Mathmatica and the Dark Side of Facebook - Spring 2018

The Electoral Art of Stealing Memories--Cambridge Mathmatica and the Dark Side of Facebook - Spring 2018
Cambridge Mathmatica was a British political consulting firm founded in 2013. Ostensibly, it was a company that used big data and psychological analysis to develop election strategies, but in reality, it had methods to manipulate public opinion and psychologically guide people to shake the foundations of democracy. The SCL Group, with its experience in psychological operations, is behind the company, and they soon become the focus of the world's attention.

The turning point came in 2018, when a case of misappropriation of personal information from Facebook was uncovered. It all started with a harmless app called "thisisyourdigitallife. Developed by Cambridge University psychologist Alexander Kogan, it accessed Facebook users under the guise of a personality test and siphoned off not only their own data but also that of their friends. Facebook's specifications at the time made this leak possible.

This vast amount of data provided Cambridge Mathmatica with the material to analyze personalities, beliefs, and emotional tendencies, from which the most effective political advertisements were created for each individual. Immigration, gun control, religion, and fear of the state. These themes were cleverly combined to induce voters to cast their votes, unknowingly inspiring fear and hope.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was subpoenaed by the U.S. Congress to confront the loss of trust. Public criticism was so severe that the company's stock price plummeted, and Facebook took measures such as tightening its data policies and restricting external apps. But it was already too late, and many people were shocked to learn that their "mental maps" had been drawn without their permission.

Meanwhile, Cambridge Mathmatica was quickly cornered by the testimony of whistleblower Christopher Wiley. His confession unmasked the front advertising agency and revealed what was going on behind the scenes. The company went bankrupt in 2018, ending its brief but intense activity.

This case is not just a corporate scandal. It showed the world how much "memory trading" and "emotional manipulation" in the modern public space of social networking can alter reality. Information is a weapon, and the unintentional click of an individual can change future elections. What we need to learn from this event is the danger and responsibility that freedom of information brings, and to be wary of technology run amok without transparency.