During his time as vice president of Cambridge Analytica, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon attempted to use the company’s political ad targeting technology to suppress the African American vote, Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
“One of the things that provoked me to leave was discussions about ‘voter disengagement’ and the idea of targeting African Americans,” he said during his testimony, according to the Guardian.
Under Bannon’s leadership, the company targeted Facebook posts at African Americans reminding them of comments that Hillary Clinton had made in the 1990s calling young black people “super predators” to try to keep them from voting, according to the Guardian.
Bannon, along with billionaire Robert Mercer, wanted to use the targeted advertisement technology as part of an “arsenal of weapons to fight a culture war,” Wylie said Wednesday. Wylie, who was the first to sound the alarm on Cambridge Analytica’s use of private data from millions of Facebook users, said he had documents to back up his claims.
Read the Guardian’s full report here.
weapons to fight a culture war?
OK
This is the story that should headline TPM this morning. Big data in the service of the full on Nazi’s racism.
As an old fart I found Wylie’s slightly outre’ appearance when he he first popped up to take the piss out of CA a bit off-putting, and am heartened to see him in a sober suit and tie these days. But I hereby apologize for my narrow-mindedness - Christopher Wylie is a brave, principled young man. My hat’s off to him.
Eric Cartman with hobo stubble.
Under Bannon’s leadership, the company targeted Facebook posts at African Americans reminding them of comments that Hillary Clinton had made in the 1990s calling young black people “super predators” to try to keep them from voting, according to the Guardian.