PublishedProfile Books, October 2019 |
ISBN9781788165068 |
FormatSoftcover, 288 pages |
Dimensions23.4cm × 15.3cm × 2.1cm |
What if you could look into the minds of an entire population? What if you could target the weakest with messages that only they saw?
In 2016, an obscure British military contractor turned the world upside down. Funded by a billionaire on a crusade to start his own far-right insurgency, Cambridge Analytica combined psychological research with Facebook data to make an invisible weapon so powerful it would throw democracy off its axis.
Personality was the key. If you know how to find them, there are millions of potential fanatics out there, from India to Indianapolis, London to Abuja, liking celebrities, posting photos of their holidays, just waiting to be radicalised. Learn how to mine their data and Facebook paints a target on each one.
But as Cambridge Analytica honed its dark arts in elections from Trinidad to Nigeria, 25-year-old whistleblower Christopher Wylie began to realise what he and his colleagues had unleashed. He knew the disturbing visions of the investors. He had seen how ruthless CEO Alexander Nix could be behind closed doors. On the eve of the Brexit vote, it was time to expose the political crime of the century.
Mindf*ck is a terrifying joyride through the new corridors of power. Plunge deep inside the wave of extremism that is sweeping the globe and discover why Brexit is only the beginning. Hostile actors are coming for your data, and they want to control what you think.
