Wiki Summaries · Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal

Facebook–Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal - 100 Word Summary

A concise 100-word overview of how Facebook data was harvested, weaponized for politics, and sparked a global backlash over privacy and democracy.

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In the 2010s, consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested Facebook data from up to 87 million users through Aleksandr Kogan’s app “This Is Your Digital Life,” collecting information not only from quiz-takers but also from their Facebook friends. The firm used these detailed psychographic profiles to micro-target voters in political campaigns, including Ted Cruz and Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. presidential bids, and was accused—though not officially found responsible—of influencing Brexit. Whistleblower Christopher Wylie exposed the operation in 2018, triggering global outrage, regulatory investigations, record fines for Facebook, bankruptcy for Cambridge Analytica, and public movements like #DeleteFacebook that questioned social media’s power over democracy.

Based on Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal on Wikipedia.

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