This book is essential reading for anyone who uses social media. An insight into how companies can use the data of users to manipulate and shape societies. You'll feel differently about using your social media accounts after this read, and will look at content with a more vigilant eye. Highly recommend.

So. I have some complex ass feelings about this book. (News at 11.) As a breakdown of how Cambridge Analytica did its work, and how this played out on several fronts (Brexit, the 2016 election), this is certainly a good breakdown from someone who was in the room where it happened. HOWEVER. Wylie is my age, and he seems to have the complete lack of introspection/responsibility that a lot of tech bros his age have. There was one point in this book where he says “it (was) unlikely that anyone would care what the firm was up to - it’s Africa, after all”. Motherfucker, you still fucked up their lives! Much less the lives we are all living, as I write this in month three of Covid quarantine and the first week of George Floyd protests. He also downplays what he did with his own political data firm post Cambridge Analytica and attempts to both center himself and absolve himself at any possible turn in what I can simply describe as some of the most cowardly ass bullshit I’ve read in a while. He goes out of his way to write condemning letters against the what he did - but fails to recognize his role in any of it. (BTW, this dude works as H&M’s head of research, give them absofuckinglutely nothing of yours). This feels like a book he was always going to write, but also that he realized “oh shit I’m going to need a job again soon better make it look like I regret any of this”. This book feels like a combination of a great deep dive from someone who was there and the “oopsie whoopsie uwu we made a fucky wucky” meme. Own your shit.

Christopher Wylie writes very conversationally. There is a lot in Mindf*ck that is very technical, but it wasnt overwhelming.  I appreciated the author's honesty and candidness when it came to what He, himself, had been involved in at Facebook.  As I was reading there were several times where I had to stop and reconsider my activities in social media. This book is eye opening, I immediately wanted to share what I had learned. It is for that reason that I recommend it as a book discussion selection. 
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

This book will completely blow your mind. It's written in an easy to read, conversational style that keeps your attention. The twisting, incredible tale keeps the pages turning. I wish the author had described some of the more technical details in more depth but it's still an excellent read on the issues surrounding Facebook and political advertising.

Working in cybersecurity, I was not naïve about the data collection that goes on using social media, Google analytics, and other marketing tools. What bothered me about Chris Wylie is the lack of respect his coworkers have for him and the lack of introspection he seems to have about his own behavior. My take is that he knew exactly what he was doing and that it was invasion of privacy as well as malevolent manipulation of voters. So after a long history of this type of work, now he wants to come clean? I think there is a lot of denial and duplicity, as well as a significant problem with the amount of narcissism in his motivation that is disturbing.

If you're looking to understand Cambridge Analytica, datamining and their inextricable link with contemporary politics you could probably do a lot worse than this book, where you get the story straight from the (proverbial) horse's mouth. Chris Wylie worked at CA, so has all the intel on how the company excelled to have the wield it did. If I was rating purely on the importance of the topic this would get five stars, easily.

But that's not how I rate books, unfortunately, and I struggled with a few things here. Firstly the tone - it was overly chatty and familiar at times, which is something which (unless done well, and it rarely is) turns me off. Personal preference, maybe, but I also didn't particularly like the tone: Wylie has a story to tell, sure, but he often gets overly defensive about his role in proceedings, how he overlooked or didn't fully understand what was going on in the company, how he stayed longer than he perhaps should've... but I didn't buy it. This overly defensive tone just made me less convinced of his candor.

Despite my misgivings, I think a lot of readers will love this expose on how the people of the US (and a number of other nations) were treated like one big, sick psychological experiment.

Christopher Wylie  was brave in for coming forward, at considerable personal risk to tell his vrsion of the Cambridge Analytica's story. His narrative is clear and concise. 
The book is a a classic case of food for thought and it should be read by everyone.

Even if you think you know the details (as I did) of the Cambridge Analytica scandal this book is a must read. Wylie sets out the horrifying detail of how they built databases that knew everything about people and how they used that information to influence people without their knowledge. Some of what they did was definitely illegal, other actions were not illegal because society has simply not known how to start regulating digital actions, but it’s truly shocking. 

I did find Wylie’s positioning of himself as the technical mastermind of the operation whilst naively having no idea what the firm was really doing a bit self-serving. However, it’s still a great read.

This book is timely coming during Brexit and Trump politics. It's a really interesting look at how companies work inside and many other social happenings, 

It's really interesting for non-fiction readers. 
thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am trying to read every book with a swear in the title. This is the inside story of a whistleblower who worked for Cambridge Analytica. While I am sure the use of Facebook data had some effect on the 2016 election, I wonder how much.

Completely mind blowing. Read this book with jaw dropped. It's an incredible look into the inner workings of these companies and really does open your eyes wide. In the light of Brexit and the American political situation this should be essential reading, it's critical people read this.

5★
READ THIS: My pick for best non-fiction, true crime, psychological thriller - ever!

“ I don’t know what else to say other than I was more naïve than I thought I was at the time. . .

When I joined SCL, I was there to help the firm explore areas like counter-radicalisation in order to help Britain, America and their allies defend themselves against new threats emerging online.”

Well, it sounded like a good idea at the time. How was ISIS attracting recruits? How could we good guys find out who was a likely target so we could counteract whatever was pushing them towards those bad guys and militant jihadism? Of course it was a good idea.

We’ve all done it. Even as a child, you learn to wait till a grown-up is in a good mood before you ask for a treat. As you get older, you get more manipulative. You put someone in a good mood before asking for a favour.

So it’s still a good idea. But – there’s always a but – when this eclectic bunch of people were gathered together to figure out what information they needed, how to collect it, and what to do with it, most of them had no idea that it could be used to change voting behaviour.

. . . “Facebook’s data was weaponised by the firm, and . . . the systems they built left millions of Americans vulnerable to the propaganda operations of hostile foreign states.”

That’s the word – weaponised. Basically, we’ve all shot ourselves in the proverbial foot, because we were silly enough to believe that rules about privacy were real and that laws could be enforced. So we connected, shared only with Friends of Friends of Friends, or whatever list you chose. YOU chose. Private? Yeah, right.

“Social media herds the citizenry into surveilled* spaces where the architects can track and classify them and use this understanding to influence their behaviour. If democracy and capitalism are based on accessible information and free choice, what we are witnessing is their subversion from the inside.”

*[The asterisk is mine. ‘Surveilled’ is ‘watched’, in case you weren’t aware that in the US, they’ve made a verb from the noun ‘surveillance’.]

Of course we knew Facebook watched what we did so they could put all the right ads up on our pages. Same with Google and other search engines. 

[Personal note. When I get tired of seeing ads for anti-arthritis tips or veterinary supplies (see, now you know I’m achy and have a dog), I start doing a few searches for tours to scenic places – mountains, oceans, outback – and hey presto! My pages start showing me nice travel photos instead of flea treatment. But I digress.] 

I don’t mean to make light of this. I have always said anything you put online you should be prepared to see posted on your front door or on the front page of the newspaper. It’s a way to remember to moderate yourself. But like the author, I didn’t figure on a company collecting everyone’s prejudices and hate and putting it all together to post propaganda to foment a general rebellion.

It’s one thing when peasants and serfs rebel against the nobility. They have a common cause about injustice. What Cambridge Analytica did was convince everybody who had a gripe about anything at all that it was the fault of “the system”, so the solution was to “break the system”. Of course, the result is a void which squillionaires and oligarchs are quick to fill. POWER!

They ran focus groups everywhere, finding out what people were upset about. They did this across Africa, Trinidad, and the tentacles spread further and further. The fact that everyone’s complaint is not the same, doesn’t matter. In face, conflicting complaints don’t even matter. This came from a focus group in Louisiana.

“A man named Lloyd, speaking with a Cajun accent that Gettleson found almost indecipherable, came across loud and clear in venting his disgust that the schools in his parish no longer taught his native French. He was furious that his granddaughter was being denied the chance to learn the ‘culture and heritage’ of her Cajun forebears.

It wasn’t fifteen minutes before the same man launched into a rant about Latinos, how even in America they wouldn’t stop speaking Spanish. Somehow, no one in the group saw the disconnect.”

[Personal note. A politician friend once said, about holding a public meeting, to let the public speak first to say what their issues are. It’s possible you will bring up something they haven’t even thought to worry about (and that you might rather they didn’t), and he was right. If there's a disconnect, don't point it out.]

So they know the Cajun man’s soft spot – Latinos.

Absolutely compelling reading. You know those students who seem to highlight so much that entire pages are yellow? I wasn’t one of them. I tend to highlight some key words or passages, because if too much is marked, nothing stands out. Well, this is one book that would be all yellow!

Everyone should be aware of what has happened. I will let Chris’s quotes give you an idea of the rest of the story. It’s a terrific book, and a story that’s hard to believe. Just because it’s possible to create something that is world-beatingly powerful doesn’t mean you should. 

[Personal note. My brother, a thoughtful kid of few words, used to ask our father now and then “Hey, Pop . . . couldn’t a guy. . . ?” and he would suggest some devious scheme or other Pop would admit was indeed possible. Fortunately for everybody, he didn’t turn to crime but became a well-respected scientist instead and discovered some good stuff. Whew!]

The author wanders back and forth between his early days in Canada and today, and early days in England and then back to today, which can get confusing. But it’s necessary, because the different threads of his interests and connections are what made his part in the puzzle unique. He was the one who understood how to make things work – for the better, he’d hoped, but it was really the challenge that hooked him. Fascinating stuff.

Thanks to NetGalley and Serpent’s Tail/Profile Books for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted so much both above and below.

“I provided evidence tying Cambridge Analytica to Donald Trump, Facebook, Russian intelligence, international hackers and Brexit."
. . .
“Although Cambridge Analytica was created as a business, I learned later that it was never intended to make money. The firm’s sole purpose was to cannibalise the Republican Party and remould American culture.”
. . .
“Soon enough, having perfected its methods far from the attention of western media [influencing African elections], CA shifted from instigating tribal conflict in Africa to instigating tribal conflict in America.”
. . .
“The world of psychological warfare of which SCL was a part has been around for as long as humans have waged war. In the sixth century BC, Persians of the Achaemenid, knowing that Egyptians worshipped the cat god Bastet, drew images of cats on their shields so the Egyptians would be reluctant to take aim at them in battle.”
. . .
“I told myself that truly learning about society includes delving into uncomfortable questions about our darker sides. How could we understand racial bias, authoritarianism or misogyny if we did not explore them? What I did not appreciate is the fine line between exploring something and actually creating it.”

HERE IS HOW YOU GET GOD INVOLVED:
“CA then discovered that for those with evangelical worldviews in particular, a ‘just world’ exists because God rewards people with success if they follow his rules. In other words, people who live good lives won’t get pre-existing conditions, and they will succeed in life, even if they are black. Cambridge Analytica began feeding these cohorts narratives with an expanded religious valence. ‘God is fair and just, right? Wealthy people are blessed by God for a reason, right? Because He is fair. If minorities complain about receiving less, perhaps there is a reason – because He is fair. Or are you daring to question God?’

THIS HAS BEEN ME. YOU, TOO?
“We are socialised to place trust in our institutions – our government, our police, our schools, our regulators. It’s as if we assume there’s some guy with a secret team of experts sitting in an office with a plan, and if that plan doesn’t work, don’t worry, he’s got a plan B and a plan C – someone in charge will take care of it. But in truth, that guy doesn’t exist. If we choose to wait, nobody will come.”

- - - - - - - - - the end- - - - - - - - -

of the world as we thought we knew it

You have heard of Cambridge Analytica. But what exactly did that scandal mean?

Mindf*ck explores the widely known scandal regarding Cambridge Analytica and their experiments, which were applied on political campaigns. The story is written from the scope of Christopher Wylie, former data consultant for Cambridge Analytica, and the person that came forward to reveal the practices that took place behind closed doors.

Mindf*ck is raw, honest, and detailed in its truths. It's a book that makes the reader question more things about data, social media, news, and - most importantly- how free their free will actually is. This is a must-read for everyone. And, although it's not the easiest book to read - truth is never easy, after all - it is definitely something that you should, anyway. Definitely recommended for everyone.

For the first time, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower tells the inside story of the data mining and psychological manipulation behind the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit referendum, connecting Facebook, WikiLeaks, Russian intelligence, and international hackers.

This book will be of interest to anyone who has followed any part of the Cambridge Analytica story, or watched the documentary on Netflix, as Wylie takes readers into the story behind The Story.

The formation, the idealism, the logic, methodology, evolution, shifting team members, the roadmap that took a formerly rose-tinted view on the potential of data to help the world to being a profit-driven, culture shifting divider of democracy. One thing to wrestle with is the complicity of the author and their part; it's addressed throughout, in apologetic hindsight.

It's a fascinating (and horrifying) look at the granular logic of how data became so powerful, all the more relevant when we consider the upcoming election in the UK, Nick Clegg's appointment with Facebook, and the concession that the platform will allow misinformation in campaigns ads to go unchecked and messaging to largely go without repercussion.

Really interesting book on one of the most pressing issues for democracy. Recommend!

An incredible story involving a whistleblower, who was in the wrong places at the worst of times and his position suited him toward exposing the company he helped develop. This book has already received a mountain of press  and denouncements by the time I was given the opportunity to read it, so my purpose is essentially to filter down its praises by word of mouth. So, the publisher succeeded: its great and depressing.

A book like no other. Well written and well balanced. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review

Mindf*ck is a fascinating but frightening description of the Cambridge Analytical  / Facebook  scandal, told by the distinctive whistleblower Christopher Wylie. I initially found Wylie’s manner rather irritating,, but swiftly began to be fascinated by how this young nerdy outsider found himself facilitating  the biggest political shifts in recent years - enabling widespread dissemination of lies and the mainstreaming of populism. As a non-techy myself, i knew the basics but no more, and Wylie explains complex concepts simply - and quite terrifyingly. He also describes the political personalities in the same “introducing unknown concepts” manner, which is more irritating - frankly we’ve all heard enough about Dominic Cummings to note need an introduction! But i accept that won’t be the case for all.

Well worth reading, especially in the current political climate.

Does the name Christopher Wylie ring a bell? No? How about Alexander Nix or Cambridge Analytica?  Still no? Steve Bannon? Donald Trump? Brexit? Facebook?

This is the story of how Wylie, a gay, liberal nerd, became an unlikely facilitator of the wholesale theft of personal data that was used to target the basest leanings of those who could be persuaded to vote for Brexit or Trump and consequently caused possibly the biggest upsets in election history.

This is a continuing story as the breaking of UK electoral guidelines by Leave.EU has been punished by a fine but other allegations, such as Russian interference in elections, is still unproven.

Cambridge Analytica, the company that initiated this assault, is no more but the ideas and techniques live on, as does Facebook, who captured all of the information. It would be as well for everyone to understand what can happen to your data when you allow unscrupulous companies to manipulate it for their own ends.

Understand the consequences of your data sharing - before it's too late.

If you read nothing else this year, you need to read this.


It throws light over Cambridge Analytica, and the lengths that it would go to one to show just what they could do, and what they were prepared to do for their clients.


The shape of things to come, were shown with data provided by small Caribbean Islands and smaller African Nations. This data, was twisted and manipulated, to coerce people into doing things that they wouldn't normally do. Whether, this be in-sighting violence or manipulating the way in which they voted.


Understandably, this was very attractive, to people and organisations with a certain leaning. The upper echelons of politics were drawn in with implications for the vote leave Brexit campaign, and the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign using Cambridge Analytica at various points.


It is written and whistle blown by the former director of research for Cambridge Analytica, Christopher Wylie. Just for the sheer insight, this book really is a must read.


Rated: 5/5


Status: Completed

Mindf*ck is the story of Cambridge Analytica as told by Christopher Wylie, the whistleblower who helped to break the story of what happened when data was used to manipulate people with targeted Facebook pages in the name of election and referendum campaigns. The scandal around Cambridge Analytica is something most people are aware of at some level, but the book details the sheer worldwide scale of the work the company was involved in and the key players involved in getting and using people's data. It starts with how Wylie ended up involved in working with data for political ends, and concludes with the realities of being a whistleblower and his manifesto for better tech companies and use of data.

There are a lot of books about technology and politics around at the moment—unsurprisingly—but this one stands out as being direct from someone deeply involved in it, covering a lot of content without delving too far into technological points or jargon, and also being a kind of memoir of how someone who is more of an outsider could be helping Steve Bannon reach the minds of Americans. It is fascinating in its content, but also in how Wylie presents himself, and the people he knows and knew. Wylie's concluding manifesto about ethical design and regulation for tech companies serves as a useful introduction to the more positive side of the current technological moment: the potential for doing better in the future and finding ways to break the current potential for things like the use of data by Cambridge Analytica.

For people already interested in books about tech companies, politics, and the future of the two, Mindf*ck gives a specific insight and a chance to think about how everything with Cambridge Analytica unfolded. For those who are newer to the topic, it is engaging and written in a style that doesn't need tech knowledge, but only an interest in what Wylie might have to say, good or bad. The memoir aspects look at whistleblowing on a personal level and in general it is a fascinating, at times horrifying read.