Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Jon Snow letter to Mark Zuckerberg (22.03.2018)

Kenya: Journalists for Justice – “Lies, confusion and psychological warfare are Cambridge Analytica’s tools of trade” (21.03.2018)

Opinion: There is a need for a investigation in the acts of Cambridge Analytica in Kenya!

It is weird, it is strange, but also very clear why President Uhuru Kenyatta, why Deputy President William Ruto and all of the political elite, and the Jubilee Party don’t want to touch the affiliate Cambridge Analytica. As the world is grasping with the toils and the states are asking for subpoena information and oral evidence from Cambridge Analytica and Facebook. The Kenyan Government are walking around like nothing happen. Not like the lightning stroke down in 2013 and 2017, but just letting it go like spilled milk.

While other governments are looking into the madness, into the big-date breaches, where the Cambridge Analytica used their manpower and expertise to take private information from users of Facebook. Use that to target and make messages fitting the campaigns that hired them. This they did in Kenya, we got no idea to what extent, but clearly they have done their thing. Even the CEO has been proud about their activity. As the Kenyan government has hired the company and used their services.

There has been known that the company had connection with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), even as far the Commission own server was directly tapped by the government. While the Jubilee Party also used the affiliate Harris Media also to spread the messages and campaign agenda made by the Company, everything was elaborate and made to make sure the President got his way in the media. Even media companies was paid to make ready-made, microwaved articles to serve the public. Like dishes fitting the paradigm of the state. This isn’t just hearsay, it was the real deal. The Githeri Media was boosted and paid through the ranks of the Company. Cambridge was involved in everything, even wrote the speeches and notes that Kenyatta brought to the public. Clearly, the President Strategic Communication Unit (PSCU) was working directly with the Company making sure their stories was set straight.

This was done with precision and with full fury, they did it knowingly and misused their trust. This wasn’t just campaigning, but rigging with the mercy of American Company registered in the United Kingdom. With ICT Managers and hackers who took information and boosted the ruling regime. If this isn’t a massive theft, than nothing is. That the Cambridge Analytica would make sure and facilitate it this way. Shows how the company and their string-men are working to get their client fixed in position. That is maybe why US Ambassador Bob Godec has been such a loyal man to Kenyatta. Where he has worked for the benefit of the President and not for democratic values. They are not needed, when the President are spending on American Companies and using their products to extend his agenda. Even if that meaning rigging and a hostile takeover of the state.

If this isn’t investigated, if the ones behind the theft, the ones who has stolen a republic. The ones who has used manipulation, rigging and propaganda to benefit one man and his cronies. If that isn’t sorted out, the reality of it all will never matter. That Kenyatta got everything served, paid the Westerners a fortune and secured his victory, it was already Pyrrhic on 26^th October 2017, but now it is a blatant lie. Manufactured election with a tin-soldier running the show.

This isn’t fun and games, this is a killing, a kill of democracy and a kill of institution and a death-stroke to believe how the citizens been used to targets themselves in a ploy to reinstate their client. It is without mercy, without justice and without consent. It is just mere facade and forgery. Nothing else, its the worst sort of realization.

It deserves to investigated, by Scotland Yard, by someone from the outside to do it properly, a foreign investigation unit, who works independently and can take all evidence and affidavits. To unleash the truth, reveal the madness and not only the open air implications that are there. Put it in system, collect more than the leaks, but actually get the whole truth and than indict the ones culprits behind it all. Peace.

Opinion: Cambridge Analytica and Facebook – Time to connect the dots!

It’s time to wake-up and smell the coffee. It is time to kick-back and not be fooled by the mess. It has been a vindictive and outrage breach of trust between the social media company called Facebook, the Mark Zuckerberg has earned massive profits on speculative ads and destruction of democracy. While he has let political weaponized attempts of our digital imprints on his page taken by the Strategic Communication Laboratories and the infamous Cambridge Analytica. That has done shady business all around the globe, on every continent and has imprinted their campaigns of malice to the public.

The distorted view that this is fine and dandy, that a multi-millionaire, a guy Cenk Ugur ones said printed money. Robert Mercer, the millionaire backing President Trump and such, who has his stooges in around him too. That this guy’s ethical backbone, has been shown to world and what sort of affair it is. Clearly, they have misused and illegally collected personal information, I doubt only in United States, but all around the globe. As well, as Facebook has been paid to alter likes of pages, posts and whatnot from all the major political parties. All to create social media merit to the ones ruling the world.

Therefore, this all a collective scheme, where the data-breaches, where the personal information and the collected effort has undermined our system. Because we have trusted Zuckerberg, but also unknowingly let him trade away our social-media interactions to a third-party, which haven’t been sanctioned for their use of that. They have at the same time, used this information to hit key areas in elections, states and also ethnic groups, as well as the same backers has had PR campaigns, written speeches and made a whole package to secure the elections in certain republics.

In Kenya, the Cambridge Analytica, that has breached the data collection activity in the United States, could surely, done the same there. As they could have taken it, messed around it with it and then played the cards to secure the president. The company has even the server of the Electoral Commission (Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission). Therefore, they got all the tools to alter the narrative and the results in the favour of their contractor Kenyatta and the Jubilee Party.

The same can be seen with the DUP who both paid Facebook, but also paid Cambridge Analytica, even parts of the Brexit referendum campaign funds has gone to this. Therefore, they have used shady tricks and used malicious breaches of public trust, to build campaigns fitting the public.

This isn’t only a USA thing, even if this is shattering the gates of power, as they are involved, the ones close to the Trump Campaign, even the one time Campaign Manager Stephen Bannon was involved in the company in question, therefore, who knows what sort of data he has used for his methods and his help to get Trump elected. As well, as the leaks has proven the company even used honey traps to black-mail politicians and was proud of this. This isn’t campaigning, but is reality a special sort of scandal, where the mighty knights and their misuse of trust has been breached.

This isn’t just about social media, this is how it has been used and how the politicians, their benefactors and their donors has used to boost their campaigns, how they have hired in consultants that has taken private information, sorted it in brackets and made sure they could use it take advantage of the political climate. Make sure they had the right slogans, the right message and right PR. That they could use the social media to spin the news cycle and make sure the people got hooked. All of this in attempt to secure their client, the Presidents and President-Elect. The ones they was working for, using the details from the big-data, breach the networks and secure the foundation of a campaign. Where the people are running around like sheep providing all the details and the reconfiguring it and they spilling the beans. That has been done, time and time again, also that if it is possible. They have even made sure of the counting, the rigging of the ballots. So their client get elected through their circus, it doesn’t have to be legitimate, but they are playing shadow state through their computers and servers. Playing second fiddle, but being the king-maker nevertheless.

That shows the dire need for investigations, for suspending these sort of activities, stopping Facebook for delivering this information, if not get people to deactivate and kill of their profiles. So Cambridge Analytica cannot use their information for political campaigning, so they cannot steal the big-data and juice up either Trump or Kenyatta. This for profits, this for personal gain and we now know, that the innocence of Facebook is gone and the image CA had was false.

Cambridge Analytica was a hit-factory, they made hits online and in real life, made campaigns and prepared the whole package, they could even make the candidates and they could be empty shell of a person, they don’t even need a thinking mind. That is proven, that is worrying and the empty suits boosted by collecting social media without knowledge, is proving to a serious breach, a serious attack on the trust and can collectively destroy our trust in companies involved. We as consumers should move elsewhere, but where. Who else has a platform that works, that is what we have to find and make sure it is not used by third-parties to weaponized our digital imprint online. Peace.

Opinion: Fearing for the information Cambridge Analytica has on Kenyan Citizens!

Since it is now revealed how far the ICT Company and Campaign Monitor Company Cambridge Analytica went in the United States, where they analyzed and took information, collected and made sure to target the public, because of the information from 50 million United States Citizens. It is interesting because the connection the same company had in Kenya. They we’re hired and worked for the President. They worked for President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto. They we’re connected with the ruling pary Jubilee and also with the Electoral Commission. This being the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

There been found that the Cambridge Analytica was in-charge of IEBC Web-pages, who knows what sort of information the company has stalled through the registers and the gist of public details. If they have collected similar information on Kenyan citizens in the same ways as in United States. They have already done it one place the years before in 2015 and 2016, why not do the same in Kenya in 2017. That would be plausible.

“Our data came from the myPersonality Facebook application which I ran from 2007 until it ceased data collection in 2012. Users consented to their data being used in research and then completed a Big Five personality questionnaire which gave them feedback on their results. Over the five years of its operation the app collected data from approximately 6 million users. We examined Facebook Likes from a subset of approximately 60,000 American users” (Stillwill, 2018).

So with the knowledge of the extended survey and collection of data in concerning of the American Election, I am sure the same company has done similar efforts in Kenya. To get the right views and make sure they are on the measures they needed to be. If not, why where you working for Kenyatta and serving his party with information. Just like they did for the Trump Campaign so they could target areas and come with the sort of ads and click-bait stories to catch the people in doubt. This is why the company was hired in the first place, to make sure the political campaign hit the home-run in battle states in the United States. You can wonder what the same company planned, what sort of collection of data and how many of the Kenyan citizen’s on Facebook, which has been collected from. Since that is not known, also what sort of play and what information they got by having the IEBC Web-Page on their server.

“There are many different potential sources for the additional information that could have been used. It is plausible that Cambridge Analytica Ltd also have a psychographic model of Prof. Carroll and Prof. Golumbia, given that they claim to use psychographics in their political advertising. Alternatively, Cambridge Analytica Ltd may have based its predictions on any number of alternative data points, such as whether Prof. Carroll and Prof. Golumbia are a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), are known to have purchased a gun, etc” (Stillwill, 2018).

So it is hard know what they used the collected data in the 2016 Elections in the United States, but that they had it and target it to the public is fairly obvious. Therefore, to expect the same in the run-offs in the 2017 in Kenya, seems likely too. If not they wouldn’t been billing the state and the ruling party. They wouldn’t have been working and making adverts, and also campaigns for the President. That is clearly and also understandable. We can just wonder what sort of details the company has on the citizens of Kenya and what they used it for. What they got from the IEBC before they used the servers. There are many open venues, but non is disclosed. This should be investigated, as the privacy and the rights of the citizens are taken for granted. Which is never right. There are already FinTech companies who has to much information on Kenyan citizens. This comes in the same regard. Peace.

Reference:

Stillwill, Dr. David John – ‘Subject Matter: Section 7 DPA request (“Subject Access Request”) sent by Prof. Carroll to Cambridge Analytica Ltd, whose parent company is SCL Elections Ltd, on 17th February 2017’ (16.03.2018)

Sigiri Bridge collapse is the perfect breakdown and picturesque misuse of government loans by Jubilee!

“We are the only political party that has a track record that speaks for itself in an array of areas” – Deputy President William Ruto (Jubilee Manifesto Launch, 26.06.2017).

Certainly the relationship between Chinese Government and Kenyan Government is paying-off under the Jubilee Administration, as President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto. Who had inspected the done project of building the Sigiri Bridge over River Nzoia in Budalangi. A promise he made in September 2014, when he was traversing the district. Therefore, that it just under two weeks after falls to pieces, is showing how shoddy the works of the bridge must have been.

The business of the bridge that makes it special is that Geotechnical Sub Consultants, second company BAC Engineering and Architecture Ltd, third company China Overseas Engineering Group Co Ltd (COVEC), which is a Chinese State Owned Engineering, and the last company is Abdul Mullick Associates Ltd (AMA), therefore the should have been enough man-power and consultants for securing the bridge building in Budalangi and over the River Nzoia. So it took 5 companies to make a faulty bridge on the price of a fortune. That should boggle your mind, all of them are displaying the working on their pages. I checked it out today on the 26^th June 2017.

That a project started in 2016 and finished early June 2017. Should have the time and preparation for building it, as the State started in 2014 the whole infrastructure project, they signed with the Chinese Engineering company on the 1^st July 2015. The whole project was anticipated to cost about Ksh. 1 Billion. Therefore, the visit of the President and deputy in mid-June checking of the bridge seems now a bit pointless. Since it broke-down last night.

Citizen TV Kenya also reported this today: “10 construction workers injured after a section of Sigiri bridge in Busia County collapsed last night” (Citizen TV Kenya, 26.06.2017). But if there was 10 construction workers on open bridge, means that they we’re done yet. That the construction still continued after the President and Vice-President visited it in June. Certainly, the Kenyan government could have made this better and made sure both the engineering, architecture, geotechnical consultation and implementation of the works. The government should have made sure the infrastructure project of this size and spend this sort of funding, as the Ksh. 1 billion.

That all of the contractors and suppliers, together with the engineers are clearly not delivered. If so the bridge would last longer than a month. As the project started as a promise in 2014 and broke down in 2017. This is proof of lack of governance and procurement of infrastructure projects. We should be able to see the reason for why COVEC got the deal, why the other companies was hired and the reason for the broken down bridge in Budalangi and over River Nzoia. This is clearly a giant slap in the face and proof of bad work and not of promising use of state funds. Since this was a Billion Kenyan Shillings used on building it!

That the Jubilee needs answer, the locals in Budalangi needs answers, also the Kenyan people need answers as this bridge was built on commercial loans and for the possible benefit of them all. Instead, it will be more expensive and need to be fixed. Maybe even get another design to make it safe. What is certain, is that this massive project and its expenses will be remembered as the tax wasted by President Kenyatta and DP Ruto. Peace.

Opinion: Jubilee and President Kenyatta hires Cambridge Analytica to ‘Big Data’ massage their Campaign message!

Today there we’re revealed that the International ‘Big Data’ Company Cambridge Analytica, the offspring of Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), who has appeared and even had now Presidential Adviser Steve Bannon on their board. This company is famous for using their techniques to manipulate and make sure the message of the Trump campaign got spread to the masses. This through the big data collection and through the algorithms that the social media sites produces. So that the election cycle can produce stories and messages, that are positive in favor of the ones that are trying to get elected and are the clients of the Cambridge Analytica or SCL.

Therefore, the news of Jubilee Alliance Party, that President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto hired the company to alter the big data traffic in Kenya. Proves that they will use any method, except the righteous ones to win. Because Jubilee knows they are trading in shallow waters, with a IEBC, rising food prices and inflation, together with missed promises from the last campaign. Therefore, the Jubilee are now sticking to the expensive tricks of the trade from the United Kingdom and United States. Certainly, the chicken-gate will not be replicated, but might tried to be deflected as people are not finding out about quick enough. Take a look!

Big Data on the Kenyan Election:

“According to sources in the Office of the President cited by The Star newspaper, the Jubilee coalition contracted Cambridge Analytica, which “uses data to change audience behaviour” (…) “Based on a Guardian expose, The Star newspaper writes that in the Kenyan context, Cambridge Analytica is expected “to pay Facebook and other third-party data companies for information about Kenya’s undecided voters whom it will then bombard with social media posts and adverts” (…) “Cambridge Analytica, which has already dispatched a small team to Kenya, will work alongside BTP Advisers. The latter has already commenced campaign planning” (Buchanan, 2017).

Methods:

“Cambridge Analytica has marketed itself as classifying voters using five personality traits known as OCEAN — Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism — the same model used by University of Cambridge researchers for in-house, non-commercial research. The question of whether OCEAN made a difference in the presidential election remains unanswered. Some have argued that big data analytics is a magic bullet for drilling into the psychology of individual voters; others are more skeptical. The predictive power of Facebook likes is not in dispute. A 2013 study by three of Kogan’s former colleagues at the University of Cambridge showed that likes alone could predict race with 95 percent accuracy and political party with 85 percent accuracy. Less clear is their power as a tool for targeted persuasion; Cambridge Analytica has claimed that OCEAN scores can be used to drive voter and consumer behavior through “microtargeting,” meaning narrowly tailored messages. Nix has said that neurotic voters tend to be moved by “rational and fear-based” arguments, while introverted, agreeable voters are more susceptible to “tradition and habits and family and community.” (Schwartz, 2017).

“We don’t consider ourselves a ‘big data’ company, we are a data analytics company. Many organization out there want to serve as the database of record for their clients. We aim to be the layer on top of that, which provides our clients with actionable insights – essentially acting as the brain behind the decision-making process. We’ve come a long way, but there is still a lot of work to be done on the side of automation. Campaigns move so quickly that often it’s difficult to keep up. The more automation we can bring to the process outside of the campaign HQ will greatly increase our speed in delivering insights to the decision makers” (Patterson, 2017).

Privacy International on CA:

“It’s one thing to profile people, and another to say that because of that profiling you are able to effectively change behaviour on a mass scale. Cambridge Analytica clearly does the former, but only claims (!) to succeed in the latter. Even before the company was in the news, their methods raised a lot of eyebrows amongst experts on data-driven campaigning, with one consultant claiming that “everyone universally agrees that their sales operation is better than their fulfilment product” (Kaltheuner, 2017).

So even if Privacy International are saying that the CA are not as all powerful as they claim they are. This might be relief, even if the idea of all power Big Data collective and possible manipulation of electoral process. This being the sales pitch of the CA and SCL. That the company will micro-targeting the Kenyan electorate with big data and five personality traits on their OCEAN program. We can officially question their motives and if the Jubilee will believe in it. If so, they are smug and thinking they can rig the whole spectrum news and sharing of information ahead of the last months of campaigning. They can certainly need to circle their message and deliver on inflation and on the food prices.

“‘The impressive bit,’ says Nix, is to expand the findings from those who took the personality tests to the entire American electorate of 230 million. They can do this because Cambridge Analytica also has ‘4,000–5,000 data points’ — pieces of information — on every single adult in the US. This can be anything from age, gender and ethnicity to what magazines they buy, which TV programmes they watch, the food they eat, the cars they drive, even the golf clubs they belong to. This is indeed impressive — and a little bit creepy. Regardless, the data is for sale; Cambridge Analytica take it and (they have persuaded their clients) spin it into gold. There are two assumptions: first that people who buy the same things and have the same habits — the same ‘data points’ — have similar personalities; secondly that your personality will help predict, say, whether you go for Coke or Pepsi, Clinton or Trump. ‘Behaviour is driven by personality,’ Nix said” (…) “A Republican data scientist for a rival firm said he did not use psychographics. ‘If you get a voter on the phone, why are you asking them what their favourite ice cream is or what their favourite colour is — why don’t you just ask them who they’re going to vote for?’ He added: ‘They’ve got a smooth-talking Brit wearing Savile Row suits who gives you a great pitch and wows you a little bit; they’ve got a great PR operation, but with psychographic profiling, there’s nothing there. They’re really, really smart people. It’s like they’re a bunch of board-certified doctors who decided to make a lot more money selling snake oil’” (Wood, 2016).

So, if this is true, than President Kenyatta has bought into the CA tricks and that people believes in the companies sales pitch. Something that cannot claim at this point. If so, wouldn’t more people be direct afraid, also PI for instance who is always talking about the possibility of what CA is promising. Therefore, the British sales pitch is bought by the Jubilee, but the public should be aware of the misuse of funds to pay the foreign political data enterprise, who clearly see a naive bunch of Kenyans. Kenyans who has money to spend on something cannot be proven. President Kenyatta and DP Ruto really wants to make sure they win, even if they micro-targeting the public.

Therefore, this will really see more marketing stunts and more that fits the paradigm of the OCEAN quizzes that deliver the target CA sets for Jubilee. CA has said they we’re behind the Trump victory, but there many counterclaims, even some who questions investors of SLC and CA. Even some thinks the Mercer family is behind it and therefore, first supported Cruz campaign, than later Trump. Which the CA did! So they wasn’t as perfect and brilliant since they didn’t help Cruz much.

So we can hope they can promise the same stats and the same services to Kenyatta and Ruto. After looking into it, the matter seem less powerful, but in the future some companies might have the power to really manipulate the electorate. Something, the CA doesn’t have yet, but the fear of might overpower the crowds. Since, this sort of tactic is not yet proven. Even if CA says so, but that is their sales pitch that clearly got Jubilee tricked as well. Peace.

Reference:

Buchanan, Elsa – ‘How Kenya’s Jubilee party is using UK ‘big data’ firm linked to Trump and Brexit victories’ (10.05.2017) link:http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/how-kenyas-jubilee-party-using-uk-big-data-firm-linked-trump-brexit-victories-1620923

Kaltheuner, Frederike – ‘Cambridge Analytica Explained: Data and Elections’ (13.03.2017) link: https://www.privacyinternational.org/node/1440

Patterson, Dan – ‘Cambridge Analytica: The future of political data is in the enterprise’ (13.03.2017) link: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/cambridge-analytica-the-future-of-political-data-is-in-the-enterprise/

Schwartz, Mattathias – ‘FACEBOOK FAILED TO PROTECT 30 MILLION USERS FROM HAVING THEIR DATA HARVESTED BY TRUMP CAMPAIGN AFFILIATE’ (30.03.2017) link: https://theintercept.com/2017/03/30/facebook-failed-to-protect-30-million-users-from-having-their-data-harvested-by-trump-campaign-affiliate/

Wood, Paul – ‘The British data-crunchers who say they helped Donald Trump to win’ (03.12.2016) link: https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/12/the-british-data-crunchers-who-say-they-helped-donald-trump-to-win/