To think that we no longer live in a democracy

[applecatchers36]

Just read this article and found it chilling, that our data is being mined from Facebook, Non UK citizens/ nations ( am looking at you USA and Russia) have interfered in supposedly democratic elections. Why isn't this being challenged legally as criminal behaviour? Treason? Election fraud?

www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy

Would help if attached the article.

There are all sorts of interesting implications there about the legitimacy of the Brexit vote . It's terrifying. And there's no opposition strong enough to seize it and run with it, and everyone's now distracted by the next bloody election.

What a load of bollox.It is people like you who are undemocratic because you cannot accept the result of a vote because it isn't what you wanted!

Oh lord it's the tinfoil hat brigade again...

De ja vu

spring when did the op state how they voted in the referendum?

OK - if you remove the bit about wanting the referendum result to be reversed (guilty) - is it problematic to democracy that subtle political campaigning, based on targeting key groups, is being done without being advertised as such? Or do you believe that the idea of such marketing by Cambridge Analytica et al is a conspiracy?

It's apparent that for many, democracy is a fine thing until the result doesn't go their way. . Expect much more of the whingeing and vitriol that resulted from the Brexit referendum in a few weeks time.

YABU. We live in a democracy. The problem with a democracy is that ignorant and uneducated people's votes count just as much as those who have actually an idea what they are voting for.

The problem with the Brexit referendum was that (a) it should never have been the subject of a referendum because it is far too complex for people to understand and (b) the campaign was rubbish from both sides with no proper information provided and (c) such a huge decision should never be taken with such a close outcome. I think they should have campaigned a second time and insisted on more of a majority (in either direction) before confirming the result

The article (very long winded!) is basically saying that some targetted advertising could have influenced people to vote Leave. There is loads of advertising before any vote and I doubt many people's decisions are purely based on seeing an advert anyway. Perhaps it may remind them to actually go to the polling station

And of course all the hyperbole about people's lives being over etc etc. Seriously - I'm embarrassed for some of the posters at times like that

Democracy means sometimes the other ones win

I agree thunder

It's just a way of targeting ads. No different to advertising in a particular newspaper or magazine depending on the age group/type of person you want to influence.

They'd have a hard job with me, I don't have, and refuse to have FB for just this reason.

It's all spin.

The doom-mongers secured my remain vote through pure fear.

Now, had the spin presented the EU as a closed group that gave preferential imigration rights (free movement) and financial treatment (membership tariffs) to Countries where the indigenous population was Caucasian and Christian and actively discriminated against Countries of different religion and ethnic origin, then I might have voted leave.

We lost.

Get over it.

Not sure we read the same article, I read psychological operations developed by the military, and have been previously used to influence rogue states are now being deployed against a civilian population in an election campaign. That for example, those whose personality profile was identified as neurotic were sent images of swarms of immigrants invading, that this would trigger emotional responses that would sway would be voters, think that if this is true is more than concerning?

Is this about Cambridge Analytica? I haven't looked at the link but I have read about them. I think it is worrying, we seem to be reading/seeing an awful lot of targeted stuff that is then used to manipulate our views. Most of us our quite lazy, we don't generally do loads of research into political issues, seeking out alternative views, we just absorb what's around in the background.

The 'suck it up' brigade need to read Carole Cadwalladr's work and stop being so naive/wilfully ignorant about what's happening in our country.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy

I think people are very naive if they think they're immune to this manipulation.

Michael Why have you linked to the same piece as the OP?

sorry, I didn't notice that post!

One thing I really don't understand about this is the motivation behind it. I can understand why Putin/Russia would want Trump in power (although I think he's proving to a bit of a loose cannon for them) and the collapse of the EU. But the people behind Brexit, I don't really understand what they would gain from Brexit/the collapse of the EU, and why they would want that.

This

The problem with the Brexit referendum was that (a) it should never have been the subject of a referendum because it is far too complex for people to understand and (b) the campaign was rubbish from both sides with no proper information provided and (c) such a huge decision should never be taken with such a close outcome.

The 'suck it up' brigade need to read Carole Cadwalladr's work and stop being so naive/wilfully ignorant about what's happening in our country

They're too busy shrieking about tinfoil hats

And yet some of you are obviously immune to the scary hacking of our brains as you aren't remotely influenced

And if you want 'shrieking' then any thread about Brexit has that in spades

But you're doing all the shrieking we need.