Political professionals in both parties are busy strategizing about how to persuade voters. Democratic operatives are fiercely debating how to win back working-class voters in key swing states. Meanwhile, the Republican Party establishment is puzzling over how to beat back populist primary challengers. Will either be successful? At first glance, […] Read more »
21st-century propaganda: A guide to interpreting and confronting the dark arts of persuasion
… The belief, or rather hope, that humankind is ultimately rational has gripped Western politics at least since Descartes, and inspired such 19th-century optimists as Thomas Jefferson and John Stuart Mill. “Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe,” Jefferson famously wrote. But in […] Read more »
Is Big Data Destroying the U.S. Political System?
Chuck Todd argues that the rise of big data has hollowed out the middle of political discourse in pursuit of an ever-shrinking slice of the electorate. Meet the Press, NBC News Read more »
No, big data did not polarize us
… Polarization in American politics is right now about as strong as it was in the late 19th century. There’s probably a mediocre steampunk sci-fi novel out there about the McKinley campaign hiring an analyst to build some Charles Babbage analytical engine to perfectly target prospective Republican voters across the […] Read more »
How Big Data Broke American Politics
Big Data revolutionized the way American politicians win elections. In the process, it broke American politics. … Here’s our theory: The reason our lawmakers aren’t responding to the center of the electorate is because they’ve concluded (with ample electoral evidence) that they don’t need centrist or swing voters to win. […] Read more »
Bold Promises Fade to Doubts for a Trump-Linked Data Firm
Standing before political and business leaders in New York last fall, Alexander Nix promised a revolution. … Mr. Nix’s little-known firm, Cambridge Analytica, claimed to have developed something unique: “psychographic” profiles that could predict the personality and hidden political leanings of every American adult. “Of the two candidates left in the […] Read more »