--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome to Today Explained. I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Noel King: And I'm Noel King.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Today, we're talking about the Cambridge Analytica scandal and how Facebook's data was used to influence the 2016 presidential election.
--:-- Noel King: That's right. And to explain it all, we have Kurt Wagner, a senior editor covering social media for Recode.
--:-- Kurt Wagner: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, Kurt, let's start with the basics. What happened with Cambridge Analytica?
--:-- Kurt Wagner: So, Cambridge Analytica was a research firm that was hired by the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. They obtained the Facebook data of some 50 million Facebook users in a way that violated Facebook's terms of service.
--:-- Noel King: And how did they get that data?
--:-- Kurt Wagner: Well, they hired a professor, Alexander Kogan, to collect profile data from some 270,000 Facebook users. And through their networks, they were able to obtain data from some 50 million Facebook users.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's a lot of data. And what was the purpose of collecting all this data?
--:-- Kurt Wagner: The purpose was to build out these behavior profiles of potential voters in the election. And then they could use that data to tailor their ads and messages to the right people.
--:-- Noel King: And that's where the problem comes in. Because Facebook's terms of service say that if you're a third-party developer collecting this data, you can't turn around and sell it to someone else.
--:-- Kurt Wagner: That's right. And that's why Facebook is now coming out and saying, "Hey, you violated the rules."
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about Cambridge Analytica's business practices? There have been some pretty sketchy reports about how they operated.
--:-- Kurt Wagner: Yeah, there have been some reports that they would extort politicians, use sex workers or prostitutes to try and capture their clients' political opponents in compromising scenarios, and even try to bribe people.
--:-- Noel King: Wow, that's pretty sketchy. And what's the current situation with Cambridge Analytica?
--:-- Kurt Wagner: Well, Facebook has suspended them from their platform, and they're now on a PR campaign to try and explain why the data of 50 million Facebook users ended up in their hands.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about Mark Zuckerberg's response to all this? He's finally broken his silence.
--:-- Noel King: Yeah, he said, "My bad," and promised to fix some of the issues.
--:-- Kurt Wagner: Yeah, he said they're going to audit any apps that look shady, automatically delete the apps that have access to your information if you don't use them for three months straight, and add a little widget that shows you which apps can use your stuff to begin with.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, let's take a break. When we come back, we'll be talking to Julia Angwin from ProPublica about the endgame: brainwashing the masses.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome back to Today Explained. We're talking to Julia Angwin from ProPublica about the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
--:-- Julia Angwin: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, Julia, what's the big deal about Cambridge Analytica?
--:-- Julia Angwin: Well, they promised to use our vulnerabilities and insecurities to target us and essentially brainwash us with political messaging that preys on our weaknesses.
--:-- Noel King: That sounds like a pretty big deal.
--:-- Julia Angwin: Yeah, it is. And the thing is, there are many companies out there whose only goal is to do that.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the solution to this problem?
--:-- Julia Angwin: Well, I think we need to make some collective choices. We need to hold social media to the same standards as news media. We need to make sure that Facebook and Twitter are responsible for what they publish.
--:-- Noel King: That's a good point. And what about the idea of labeling real news and fake news?
--:-- Julia Angwin: Yeah, that's a good idea too. If Facebook could promote real news and label fake news, that would be a big step forward.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about the individual responsibility? Should we be doing more to protect our own data?
--:-- Julia Angwin: Well, I think it's unrealistic to expect individuals to lock up their data. We need to make some collective choices to protect our data.
--:-- Noel King: Okay, let's talk about some solutions. What can we do to avoid a social media dystopia?
--:-- Julia Angwin: Well, number one, we need to hold social media to the same standards as news media. We need to make sure that they're responsible for what they publish.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about labeling real news and fake news?
--:-- Julia Angwin: Yeah, that's a good idea too. If Facebook could promote real news and label fake news, that would be a big step forward.
--:-- Noel King: And what about the individual responsibility? Should we be doing more to protect our own data?
--:-- Julia Angwin: Well, I think it's unrealistic to expect individuals to lock up their data. We need to make some collective choices to protect our data.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, let's talk about Mack Weldon and their essentials.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And finally, a word from our sponsor. Mack Weldon sells men's essentials. They believe in men's essentials. They're also into smart design, premium fabrics, and simple shopping.
--:-- Noel King: And let's be real here, who doesn't like simple shopping?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Not only is it simple, but Mack Weldon wants to make things cheaper right now for you too, like 20% cheaper.
--:-- Noel King: Go to macweldon.com right now and get 20% off using the promo code EXPLAINED.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Thanks for listening to Today Explained.
--:-- Noel King: And thanks for supporting our sponsors.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: See you next time.
