CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA

Britanny Kaiser, the former Cambridge Analytica Director of Programme Develpment, gave evidence to the DCMS Select Committee yesterday in their investigation into fake news. You can watch the entire session HERE.  Her prepared written statement is HERE. They are both worth spending a bit of time on.

PSYCHOGRAPHIC TARGETTING

If you are like me, still unable to really figure out how the referendum was won when the result is likely to be totally against the interests of those who voted in large numbers for it, then the truth is beginning to emerge. The DCMS Select committee, in their investigation into fake news, is slowly uncovering how the Brexit campaign went about it.

CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA - AN EXPLAINER

If you're still not clear what Aggregate IQ and Cambridge Analytica were doing in the Brexit campaign there is an explainer on the BBC website HERE. Essentially, we are all characterized by five psychological traits and these can be predicted accurately by tracking your "likes" on Facebook. According to the explainer this algorithm is so accurate that after just ten likes it's better at judging your character than you or your colleagues. 

CA and CH

Among the information released by the DCMS Select committee from the whistle blower Christopher Wylie is a legal memorandum (it's on page 88 HERE) to the Trump campaign about the use of foreign nationals in US elections. Basically, it's prohibited. But I note on the Kanto Systems offer (page 107) it quotes a support package of £4500 per month for "UK based front and back-end support and technical assistance".

AGGREGATE IQ

There is a Cyber risk company called Upguard which has been looking at details about Aggregate IQ, this shadowy Canadian company used by Vote Leave, BeLeave, the DUP and Veterans for Britain to run their digital advertising campaigns. Some of the details they have found themselves and the rest is from the Whistle blower Christopher Wylie.

CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA - THE TRUTH IS FINALLY COMING OUT

Christopher Wylie, the Cambridge Analytica whistle blower has been giving evidence to the DCMS Select Committee (HERE) and it seems quite shocking to me (and I am old enough to be well beyond being shocked normally). It looks quite obvious that Vote Leave broke the law by coordinating their campaign with BeLeave, the DUP and Veterans for Leave.

OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB

This morning The Guardian and Observer (HERE), (HERE) and (HERE) are leading with several stories on how the two leave campaigns, Vote Leave (the official, government funded one) might have broken election law by working together with another campaign in a coordinated way and therefore exceeded official spending limits. Banks has said previously that Leave.eu (Farage, Banks and co) had used Cambridge Analytica - although he and they both denied it later. Meanwhile, Vote Leave used Aggregate IQ in Canada. Now a whistle blower has emerged claiming that Cambridge Analytica and Aggregate IQ were, for all intent and purposes, the same company.