New Cambridge Analytica Leaks
Probably the most useful takeaway from CA&#x27;s approach is that it&#x27;s useful to realize how malleable opinions are of large swaths of &quot;independent&quot; voters. Ad experts and entertainment companies have known this for decades, but I get the sense the average American citizen still thinks of themselves as a free and independent thinker and not a product of their environment.<p>Problem is, even if they are a free and independent thinker, voting populations are large enough that the &quot;average is the outcome&quot; phenomenon comes into play, and voters are on average demonstrably vulnerable to coercion. Not enough to flip people&#x27;s opinions 180 degrees, but enough to, say, get a reality TV star elected over a politician with a checkered history (that has itself been subject to decades of effort and millions spent to make said history checkered).