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In reply to the discussion: I fear that a force of evil has been unleashed [View all]Johnny2X2X
(24,217 posts)Everyone falls for Facebook ads, not just the rubes. In fact, the group most likely to believe fake stories about Hillary weren't even Trump voters, they were Bernie fans.
This technology has gone beyond mere propaganda and into the realm of cyber warfare and mind control. Most governments consider the type of technology that Cambridge Analytica unleashed on US voters to be a type of weapon that only the military should use. They had a 5000 data point profile of every voter in the country, that profile represented as complete of a psychological profile of each voter as has ever been assembled. They were able to use an AI to analyze the data and target each voter with the type of micro ads they knew would change their behavior at the voting booth. And Trump reinforced it all, his rants were in lock step with the micro ads.
This group is no longer called Cambridge Analytica, but they've taken their show on the road and are flipping elections all over the globe. They've not lost to my knowledge yet.
And it will be more advanced this time. They targeted just the right voters in 2016, the election was decided by about 70,000 voters in WI, MI, and PA. They know that Trump has 40% locked up with his Deplorables, those aren't the target, his targets are the few million people who are on the fence. And it will expand beyond Facebook even more.
These tools are so powerful, that I guarantee ever DU poster has incorrect assumptions about at least 1 or 2 things related to Hillary Clinton. This stuff worked even on Hillary voters who stood by her. Unless the Dems have just as advanced of a Data campaign, it will be an uphill struggle.