Beyond Cambridge Analytica: Microtargeting and Online Campaigns in 2020Webinar-
Beyond Cambridge Analytica: Microtargeting and Online Campaigns in 2020
September 2, 2020
7:00 - 8:00 a.m. PST
Use of data and microtargeting in political advertising were famously critiqued after in the 2016 US elections, and in relation to other recent influence campaigns around the world. Though the principal firm known for these campaigns, Cambridge Analytica, shuttered in 2018, these techniques are still widely employed, and several former CA employees are now involved with new data analytics and campaign firms including Datapropria, which has been linked to the 2020 election. For this event, two of the foremost researchers into online political communications, Dr. Emma Briant (Bard College) and Dr. David Karpf (George Washington University) discuss evolving campaign strategy and methods, clarify lingering myths and misunderstandings and reflect on the significance, impact and lessons for campaign communications in the 2020 US presidential election and beyond.
Panelists:
Dr. Emma Briant
Dr. Emma L Briant is Associate Researcher at Bard College and specializes in researching propaganda, information warfare and political communication. She is most interested in the rapid evolution of contemporary propaganda, its governance and its implications for democracy, security, inequality and human rights. Dr Briant analyzed the coordination and increasing impacts of the digitalization of defense propaganda for her book Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change (Manchester University Press, 2015). She spent 11 years researching SCL Group and Cambridge Analytica and was central in revealing their wrongdoing in 2018 - this research formed the basis for important evidence submitted to the UK Parliament, US Congressional Committees and Testimony for the European Parliament among other public inquiries. She is now writing a book on the recent digital governance crisis: Propaganda Machine: Inside Cambridge Analytica and the Digital Influence Industry. Dr Briant’s first book was Bad News for Refugees, (Pluto Press, 2013, co-authored with Greg Philo and Pauline Donald), which examined UK political and media discourse on migration prior to ‘Brexit’.
Twitter: @emmalbriant
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmalbriant/
Dr. David Karpf
David Karpf is an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University. His work focuses on strategic communication practices of political associations in America, with a particular interest in Internet-related strategies.
Dr. Karpf is the award-winning author of The MoveOn Effect: The Unexpected Transformation of American Political Advocacy (2012, Oxford University Press) and Analytic Activism: Digital Listening and the New Political Strategy (2016, Oxford University Press). Both books discuss how digital media is transforming the work of political advocacy and activist organizations. His writing about digital media and politics has been published in a wide range of academic and journalistic outlets, including Wired, The Nation, Nonprofit Quarterly, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Prior to entering academia, Dr. Karpf was an environmental organizer with the Sierra Club. He served as National Director of the Sierra Student Coalition in 1999, National Trainings Director from 1998-2000, and National Roadless Campaign Coordinator in 2000. He also served six years on the Sierra Club's Board of Directors (2004-2010). Karpf weaves this practical campaign perspective into much of his research and teaching.
Dr. Karpf previously served as an assistant professor in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. He was a resident fellow at the University of Virginia's Miller Center for Public Affairs in 2008-09, a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy in 2009-2010, and a visiting fellow at Yale University's Information Society Project from 2010–2011. His work has appeared in the Journal of Information Technology and Politics, Policy & Internet, IEEE Intelligent Systems, and Information, Communication, and Society. He has also been published in The Guardian and TechPresident, and is frequently quoted by mainstream publications on technology and politics.
Dr. Aram Sinnreich
Dr. Aram Sinnreich is a Professor and chair of the Communication Studies division at American University’s School of Communication. Sinnreich’s work focuses on the intersection of culture, law and technology, with an emphasis on subjects such as emerging media and music. He is the author of three books: Mashed Up (2010), The Piracy Crusade (2013), and The Essential Guide to Intellectual Property (2019). He has also written for publications including The New York Times, Billboard, Wired, The Daily Beast, and The Conversation. Prior to coming to AU, Sinnreich served as Associate Professor at Rutgers University's School of Communication and Information, Director at media innovation lab OMD Ignition Factory, Managing Partner of media/tech consultancy Radar Research, Visiting Professor at NYU Steinhardt, and Senior Analyst at Jupiter Research. He is also a bassist and composer, and has played with groups and artists including progressive soul collective Brave New Girl, dub-and-bass band Dubistry, punk chanteuse Vivien Goldman, and Ari-Up, lead singer of the Slits. Sinnreich was a finalist in the 2014 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and a semi-finalist for the 2020 Bernard/Ebb songwriting award.
Hosted by - American University School of Communication