Eight things you need to know about Cambridge Analytica

News about Cambridge Analytica has been circulating with many Kenyans wondering what exactly the firm is and why it is being linked to Kenyan elections.

On Monday, March 19, Britain's Channel 4 News reported based on a secretly recorded video, that Cambridge Analytica secretly stage-managed Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta's campaigns in the hotly contested 2013 and 2017 elections, drawing the attention of many.

The New York Times and The Observer of London then reported that the firm had harvested the data from more than 50 million Facebook profiles in a bid to develop techniques for predicting the behavior of potential brand users and target voters.

What exactly is Cambridge Analytica?

The British data collection firm was created in 2013 with a focus on USA elections. It markets itself as providing consumer research. The firm is affiliated corporation of Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), a company that provides data, analytics, and strategy to governments and military organizations worldwide. 

What do they do?

Cambridge Analytica helps companies market their brands by making possible clients choose the brands without realizing they have been allured. The firm uses personal information of potential clients to know how their thinking channels are and use the same to make them choose the brand. They can manipulate audience behavior by observing their reactions to observed behavioral patterns. They accomplish this by designing targeted messages to reach groups in an attempt to make them choose desired choices.

How do they collect information?

The firm collects personal data from Facebook users by luring them to log into their apps. Once a Facebook user logs into any of their apps that are placed all over Facebook, the firm can closely monitor the person and their social circles. The data collecting app "thisisyourdigitallife” was designed for Cambridge Analytica by a Russian-American academic Aleksandr Kogan.

When did they become popular?

In 2015, after USA President Donald Trump got into office, Cambridge Analytica tried to woo more clients saying they could proudly convince potential buyers to consider the brands. They boasted they could influence the opinion of the people whose information they had.

Why did they get tied to politics?

Just like companies trying to sell their brands, politicians look forward to gaining support from voters by influencing their decision making. Cambridge Analytica, using personal data collected from Facebook may post content aimed at making the potential voter choose one politician against another. The firm was tied to President Trump’s win and the 2013 and 2017 President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win.

What part did Facebook play?

Cambridge Analytica approached Facebook as a marketing agency then contracted Global Science Research which created an app which could read personal information once a user logged in using their Facebook credentials. In 2015, Facebook realized that GSR had breached the contract by accessing personal information from users and Cambridge Analytica discontinued. Collected data however remained. In 2015, the firm used the Facebook trove, obtained without authorization, to build a software program to influence voters, including in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Which politicians have been associated with Cambridge Analytica?

USA President Donald Trump is said to have invested over $6 million on information obtained by the firm. Cambridge Analytica is said to have been involved in Kenyan politics both in 2013 and 2017 where they created two websites - one highlighting the achievements of President Uhuru Kenyatta ‘Uhuru for us’ and the other attacking NASA leader Raila Odinga ‘Real Raila’. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.

What is Facebook doing about it?

The social media platform has admitted that Cambridge Analytica lied to it and abused its policies. According to them, the firm lied that they had deleted all information collected through the "thisisyourdigitallife” app when they held on to it years later. Facebook has since suspended Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) the parent company of Cambridge Analytica. It also demands a forensic audit of Cambridge Analytica.