Tesco
The Cambridge Analytica Con
Article

The Cambridge Analytica Con

How media coverage misses the mark on the Trump data scam

Yasha Levine
The Baffler, 2018
Read the article

Read or listen offline

automatisch generiertes Audio
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×
automatisch generiertes Audio

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Analytical
  • Applicable

Recommendation

When a whistleblower outed Cambridge Analytica for the inappropriate use of Facebook profile information for the purpose of influencing US elections, people around the world were understandably outraged. But, as author Yasha Levine explains in his analysis of the situation for The Baffler, this was a symptom of much deeper privacy concerns that involve the biggest tech companies in the world. getAbstract recommends this sprawling article to anyone interested in learning the truth behind personal privacy in the era of big data.

Take-Aways

  • The outrage over Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook profile information is understandable but misguided within the wider historical context.
  • Much bigger companies than Cambridge Analytica make similar use of users’ personal information and have been doing so for decades.
  • As far back as the 1950s, US government contracting firms were collecting and analyzing personal data to try and shape elections.

About the Author

Yasha Levine is a former editor of The eXile, a Moscow newspaper, and is currently an investigative journalist for The Baffler and other websites.

Comment on this summary or Diskussion beginnen

More on this topic

Learners who read this summary also read

9
Book
The Self-Aware Leader
9
Book
Bringing Up the Boss
7
Book
Begin Boldly
9
Book
Perfectly Confident
8
Book
The Innovation Mindset
9
Video
The Psychology of the Con

    Related Channels

    Medienmanipulation
    Gesellschaft