Web of lies

I recently watched the Netflix documentary the Great Hack, and have been wondering how broken the Internet is.

The film covers the investigations into Cambridge Analytica, a company accused of interfering in the US elections. There is evidence to suggest that they used Facebook users data to profile them and sent targeted advertising to users they suspected of being persuadable about who to vote for.

There is a common feeling that the world today is very divided with people becoming siloed in communities defined by a shared world view. I believe that seeing our sympathies reflected back at us with targeted advertising has led to fringe groups believing that they are mainstream. There is an acceptance that these people have longed for which they have now found and are understandably unwilling to let go, even when faced with evidence that their online experience does not match reality.

A personalised internet makes it hard to discover new perspectives. Living in an echo chamber can be comfortable but it will not lead to growth or to understanding of other views. Finding the truth, in all its complexity through multiple expressions should be one of the goals of the internet.

The documentary went on to state that the adverts produced by Cambridge Analytica were ‘fake news’. Cambridge Analytica have been accused of creating fake websites that share lies with the intention of getting people to vote in a specific way. This is sadly hard to prove as there is no simple way of tracing the origins of the specific content.

In both the Trump election campaign and Brexit referendum, false information was used by both sides to try to sway the electorate. The internet is fast and allows people to people to post things with complete freedom, both in what they say and with anonymity. For some people this is a precious right, for example when trying to expose a corrupt totalitarian government. However it does mean that these regimes can influence other countries elections with out detection.

These observations are certainly troubling but as yet, I don’t know what can be done about it. There is no silver bullet and it seems too late to redesign it for accountability, even if we wanted to. Good intentions and well informed policies are all very well but it only takes one link in the chain to pull the whole thing down.

The internet is a lawless wild west analogy. There are fights breaking out, small communities and gold mines to be found. There are signs of it evolving with major hubs being established, but without any overarching governance there are still risks.