… For four decades, from 1968 to 2008, what was loosely described as the Republican establishment — the party’s congressional leaders, campaign operatives, donors, lobbyists and special interests — reigned supreme. Every four years, the party’s presidential nominee secured the establishment’s stamp of approval. Endorsements from governors and senators — […] Read more »
Long Before Cambridge Analytica, a Belief in the ‘Power of the Subliminal’
Nearly three decades ago, an ambitious young London advertising executive named Nigel Oakes fell out with his partners, two psychologists, over a central claim of his new business: That using the tools of social science, he could plant motivations in a person’s brain without their knowledge, prompting them to behave […] Read more »
Did Cambridge Analytica have anything to sell?
There’s little doubt Cambridge Analytica’s behavior was scandalous, but was it a scam? If any of what is alleged is true, the firm and its leadership behaved unethically, and possibly illegally. But prominent journalists, academics and political practitioners have gone further, pronouncing Cambridge Analytica’s work itself to be a fraud. Of […] Read more »
Why data privacy could unite Red and Blue America
As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress this week, voters had good reason to pay attention. Americans are online a lot: Seventy-three percent of us use social media, 45 of us went online more than 25 times last week, 43 percent of us did some form of online banking […] Read more »
Facebook Users’ Privacy Concerns Up Since 2011
As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress about his company’s efforts to protect user privacy, U.S. Facebook users are increasingly concerned about invasion of privacy when using the social media site. Currently, 43% of Facebook users are very concerned about their privacy being invaded, up from 30% in a […] Read more »
Most Americans Feel They’ve Lost Control Of Their Online Data
On Monday, Facebook began notifying the up to 87 million users whose information may have been compromised and given to Cambridge Analytica. … But how much do Americans care about the privacy of their information — and how do they distinguish which information they’re comfortable sharing? Lee Rainie, director of […] Read more »