Cambridge Analytica
mechanism
A political firm secretly harvested 87 million Facebook profiles to target voters based on their psychology.
Who they are
Cambridge Analytica, a subsidiary of the SCL Group.
What they do
In the engine's read it's the prototype for automated, algorithm-driven political warfare.
How it works
It harvested 87 million Facebook profiles for psychographic targeting, with Steve Bannon as vice president and Robert Mercer as funder.
Why it matters
It set the template for using personal data to manipulate voters at scale — the early model everything since has followed.
The engine's record — word for word
SCL Group subsidiary. Harvested 87M Facebook profiles for psychographic targeting. Bannon VP, Mercer funder. Prototype for algorithmic political warfare.
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