Tues 9th August 2022, Election Day
A firm that worked for Donald Trump and which once claimed ties to a pro-Brexit campaign group is now reportedly working for Kenya's incumbent president.Cambridge Analytica's mission statement is simple. On its website, the firm says it "uses data to change audience behaviour." Most notably, the company was hired by Donald Trump's presidential campaign and has been given some credit for Trump's electoral success.The company purchases and compiles demographic data on voters. On its website, Cambridge Analytica claims to possess up to 5,000 data points on more than 230 million Americans. When combined with on-the-ground surveys, Cambridge Analytica can use this vast information bank to target key messages to relevant voters. Now, Cambridge Analytica is working in Kenya, helping in the effort to re-elect President Uhuru Kenyatta. On 10 May, The Star newspaper in Kenya reported that Kenyatta's Jubilee Party had hired the firm, and a month later, the same newspaper reported that Cambridge Analytica was working from the seventh floor of the party's headquarters in Nairobi. Cambridge Analytica refused to comment on those reports to BBC Trending, but the global privacy-protection charity Privacy International suggests that the company is being paid $60 million for its work in the country. ?Eight things about the Kenyan elections?Kenya election: Fake CNN and BBC news reports circulate?Kenyan victim of 2007 post-election violence speaks to BBC?BBC Trending on Facebook Cambridge Analytica's involvement in Kenyan politics began in 2013, when the company worked for Kenyatta and The National Alliance - the forerunner of the Jubilee Party. During that year's campaign, the company correlated online data with 47,000 on-the-ground surveys. According to the Cambridge Analytica website, this allowed the company to create a profile of the Kenyan electorate and come up with a campaign strategy "based on the electorate's needs (jobs) and fears (tribal violence)." Kenyatta won the 2013 election.Kenyans are among the most active social media users in Africa. The number of mobile phone users in the country shot up from 8 million in 2007 to 30 million in 2013, and 88% of the population can now access the internet through their phones.Having served as Minister of Information and Communication from 2005 to 2013, Bitange Ndemo was one of the driving forces behind Kenya's technological expansion. He told BBC Trending that social media plays a "key role" in the country's political campaigns. "It provides a fast way of responding to your opponent's propaganda," he said. "Plus, it is perhaps the only medium that can reach most young people."Ethnic turmoil At the same time, Kenya's recent political history has been marred by violence. This reached a peak after the 2007 general election, when a contested result caused ethnic divisions to erupt - 1,100 people were killed in the ensuing conflict, while 650,000 were displaced. "Kenya is very tricky political terrain," says Paul Goldsmith, an American researcher and writer who's lived in Kenya for 40 years. "Cambridge Analytica might have access to surveys and other data, but that doesn't necessarily translate into useful insights. There's always something unpredictable during elections here. There's always a curveball." "Western companies, charities and development experts tend to run into obstacles when they come to Africa," Goldsmith says. "I would be surprised if Cambridge Analytica was any different."Ethnic divisions continue to frame Kenyan politics. Each political party remains closely affiliated with a particular ethnic group. Though Kenyatta did not stand for president in 2007, he was accused of encouraging members of his native Kikuyu ethnic group to attack members of the Luo ethnic group, who were represented in the election by Raila Odinga. The charge was taken to the International Criminal Court, but ultimately dismissed in December 2014 due to a lack of evidence. Odinga, who maintains that he was cheated out of victory in 2007, is standing against Kenyatta this time around.
Uhuru has at least 2 billion dollars. This is pocket change
Quote from: bryan275 on September 20, 2017, 07:45:44 PMUhuru has at least 2 billion dollars. This is pocket changeThat doesn't mean he doesn't feel like a person in need, though. Remember stories here that he helped himself to 30 billion SGR money and now stories of record 430 billion govt borrowing over the last 5 months.
Topic: Cambridge analytica bills Uhuru 6 billions shillings (Read 1044 times)