The Great Hack

By reading this koob, you will learn how social media can be exploited to monitor your personality, influence your opinions, and swing your vote in elections.

You will also discover:

• How Cambridge Analytica exceeded its remit and ended up undermining democracy;

• How whistleblowers, lawyers, and an intrepid journalist brought the scandal to light;

• How a college professor’s legal case revealed that the current system is unfit for purpose;

• How data can be used as a weapon of mass deception; and

• How tech giants like Facebook are still unaccountable for what occurs on their platforms.

Since 2016, the world has changed dramatically. The election of Donald Trump and the UK Brexit referendum seemed to mark a worrying swing towards populism. Some argued that voters were tired of the status quo and longing for a change. But in 2018, a story broke signaling that something more sinister was at play: a whistleblower at the data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica came forward to highlight the company’s illegal use of Facebook data in identifying and influencing undecided voters.

Are tech giants undermining democracy? If so, how is this happening, and can they be stopped?

Please note that this koob is based on a documentary, The Great Hack, available on Netflix.