Los Angeles, CA — “The Great Hack”, screened at the Netflix Headquarters and soon airing on Netflix, was one of the most interesting and informational documentaries I have ever seen. It followed Cambridge Analytica, the CEO and workers at C.A., Facebook, and other forms of data collection means. The film dove into how they directly manipulated and influenced political issues, such as the Trump campaign and Brexit. ‘The Great Hack” also talked a bit about other political experiments and influences they have had in other countries.
Weaponizing.
That was the word to describe the use of our data. Our data is used in forms of fear and hatred to manipulate and persuade the world to make decisions, to turn countries against themselves, and to change behaviors. This documentary showed examples of how our data is collected and direct ways our data is used and personalized to each person. Companies, such as C.A., can literally precisely guess your exact personality based on sneaky ways of collecting your data. And you cannot even access your own data from them!
This was a scary, shocking, and heart dropping 113 minutes, where the viewer sees how they have been manipulated by the internet’s bloodstream, and how they will continue to be manipulated (unknowingly). As the film states, C.A. is a “criminal enterprise”, and we are all victims to it’s dark effects.
I would recommend watching “The Great Hack” to every person who cares about their personal safety and well-being. As a highlighted professor said in this film, it is extremely important to “understand how your data is affecting your life” and protect yourself as much as you can, even though you cannot fully shield yourself from this monster of the psychology of influence.
A journalist from ‘The Guardian”, a British news and reporting outlet, stated “nothing is what it seems”, as she is very right. We are manipulated every day by sneaky and immoral tactics, and I strongly urge everyone to set aside time to view this documentary to inform and protect yourself.
‘The Great Hack” will stream on Netflix starting July 24, 2019.
