8 BUSINESS Saturday, March 24 , 2018 How was weaponised The surveillance scandal of Cambridge Crucially, for every individual recruit- Analytica use of Facebook data to help the ed on MTurk, Kogan also captures the EU withdraws campaign win in the 2016 same data for each subjects’ unwitting election began three years earlier with a sci- Facebook friends -- an average of around entific paper published in the Proceedings 340 friends per individual. GSL sud- of the National Academy of Sciences. denly owns a massive data pool of pro- The study by Michal Kosinski of Stanford, files of 50 million individuals across the David Stillwell of the University of United States. Russian envoy Cambridge and colleagues involved 58,466 GSR’s data set is used by Cambridge adult American users of Facebook. Subjects Analytica in the Republican Party presi- provided information about themselves dential Iowa caucuses in support of Ted and took a standard test to classify their per- Cruz. Cruz wins. “The impressive bit,” says sonalities in five broad categories: degree of ’s chief executive, openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, Alexander Nix, is to expand the findings agreeableness and neuroticism or OCEAN. from those who took the personality tests The researchers then correlated the “big to the entire American electorate of 230 mil- five” personality traits with each person’s lion. Nix says Cambridge Analytica also has Facebook “likes,” an average of 227 per “4,000–5,000 data points” -- pieces of infor- subject. This data led to a computer model mation -- on every single adult U.S. citizen. which could predict a person’s race with In June 2016 the Trump campaign hires 95% accuracy, gender with 93% and politi- Cambridge Analytica. The campaign devel- cal orientation — Democrat or Republican ops “dark posts” on Facebook to target for instance — with 85% accuracy. wavering left-wingers, African-Americans, In 2014 assistant psychology professor and young women to “suppress” their vote. Aleksandr Kogan who runs London-based Dark posts target users with specific profiles Global Science Research (GSR) approaches in specific locations. For example, news Kosinski and Stillwell. Kogan wants access aimed at African-Americans in which Hillary to the OCEAN data set on behalf of Strategic Clinton refers to black men as predators or French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian PM Charles Michel Communication Laboratories (SCL). The in the Miami district of Little Haiti highlight- welcome UK PM Theresa May during a EU leaders summit in Brussels, deal fails to go ahead. ing the failure of the Clinton Foundation Belgium GSR develops its version of the data set following the earthquake in Haiti. using Amazon’s crowdsourcing marketplace Facebook became weaponised, and Donald Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Kogan’s subjects Trump became President of the United are paid by SCLHow to take Facebookthe Facebook survey. wasStates weaponised of America. To take new steps soon 2013, Cambridge University: Psychology reseachers publish study of more than 58,000 volunteer U.S. adults, in which online survey Brussels said would include the Grybauskaite said she was app reveals personality traits based on Facebook “likes” uropean Union member expulsion of Russian officials ready to expel Russian spies, states agreed at a summit and possible other retaliatory whose activities she said were Volunteers inE Brussels to take further actions. deeply harmful: “It is certain punitive steps against Standing beside Macron that a coordinated action will Russia in the coming days and echoing his view that be taken next week, maybe at for the nerve agent attack in Russia had breached the the start of it,” she said. “It’s Salisbury, as Moscow accused sovereignty and security absolutely obvious that the the bloc of joining a London- of the Union, German network exists and that it acts driven hate campaign against Chancellor Angela Merkel aggressively.” it. told a joint news conference Romanian President Late on Thursday, in that EU countries would Klaus Iohannis stressed Friends a boost for British Prime debate what measures to take that national governments Minister Theresa May, the “and then act”. wanted to retain control of App collects data on Facebook users’ friends – average of 340 friends/user 28-member EU collectively One senior official the details in an area where Study can identify Democrat and Republican voters in 85% of cases condemned the attack on a familiar with discussions they guard their sovereignty former Russian spy and said said the extent of measures from Brussels. But most Strategic Communication Laboratories it was “highly likely” Moscow in the coming weeks could of those present would go Dec 2013: SCL launches was responsible. They also be “surprising” and not home and prepare suitable Cambridge Analytica (CA), recalled the EU ambassador confined to expulsions. steps. backed by $10 million from Republican to Russia. There is no talk of more Russia has denied donor (left). “Additional steps are economic sanctions, whose responsibility for the March 2014-16: Donald Trump’s strategist, expected as early as Monday enforcement has divided the 4 attack on former Russian Steve Bannon (right) is CA’s vice president at the national level,” summit EU in the past. spy Sergei Skripal and his chair Donald Tusk told Czech Prime Minister daughter, the first known Global Science Research reporters. Andrej Babis said he was offensive use of a nerve toxin May 2014: Cambridge psychologist French President likely to announce the in Europe since World War Aleksandr Kogan (right) founds Emmanuel Macron said Paris expulsion of several people Two. A British judge said on Global Science Research, which works and Berlin would be among on Monday, after returning Thursday that both victims countries taking further to Prague and consulting may have suffered brain with SCL and CA. GSR harvests rapid and coordinated with his foreign minister. damage from the attack. so-called psychometric profiles of measures which other leaders Lithuanian President Dalia () 50 million U.S. Facebook accounts Cambridge Analytica Trump campaign Feb 2016: CA chief executive Jun-Nov 2016: Trump US warship sails near disputed Alexander Nix (above) works campaign hires CA. with ’s campaign in Team uses dark posts – ads Republican Party presidential which target undecided Democrats’ islands in S China Sea: officials primaries. Facebook accounts to suppress Washington/Beijing The operation, which condition of anonymity, said Kogan’s psychometric profiles are their votes. For example, ads U.S. Navy destroyer infuriated Beijing, was the the USS Mustin travelled used to create highly-personalised aimed at African-Americans Acarried out a “freedom of latest attempt to counter what close to Mischief Reef in the Facebook ads. misquote Hillary Clinton referring navigation” operation on Friday, Washington sees as China’s Spratly Islands and carried Cruz wins Iowa caucuses to black men as predators coming within 12 nautical miles efforts to limit freedom of out manoeuvring operations. of an artificial island built by navigation in the strategic China has territorial disputes Sources: Motherboard, PNAS, Reuters Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS China in the South China Sea, waters. with its neighbours over the U.S. officials told Reuters. The officials, speaking on area.