Across the globe, data on voters is being collected, traded and utilised to target them for political influence and shape opinions. But how does this actually happen in practice and how can we start to find out who is actually making this happen? This workshop will introduce participants to the Influence Industry and what it does and provide insights into how researchers can use public data to find out more.
Tactical Tech Workshop: The Influence Industry
Workshop Logistics
Workshop Date: Monday, November 29
Time: 11am – 12pm PST
Cost: Free
Experience Level: Open to all skill levels; No previous knowledge needed
Requirements: Computer/device with an internet connection
Workshop Outline
● Basics of voter data in digital political campaigning
● Overview of the Influence Industry and how it operates
● Exploration of US Federal Election Commission database and UK Election Commission database
● Sneak peek into Tactical Tech's upcoming tools for exploring the Influence Industry across the globe
Workshop Goals
● Broaden the understanding of how democratic processes in the digital age operate.
● Introduce the audience to relevant public data sets to encourage research and transparency efforts.
This workshop accompanies the film series IMAGE+BIAS. FILMIC EXPLORATIONS and is part of the project IMAGE + BIAS that critically engages with the cultural realities being increasingly determined by imperceptible technologies.
Instructor
Gary Wright
Gary is one of the Project Leads at Tactical Tech's Data & Politics team working on The Influence Industry Project. Over the past five years, he and his team have been researching, documenting and highlighting the massive data industry connected to modern day political elections, how data on voters is collected and utilised by candidates and what digital tools are frequently used. Gary's background is in international politics and security studies and entered the discourse around data privacy and security following work in ICT4Development.
Tactical Tech Workshop Series
Partners
Goethe-Institut San Francisco
The Goethe-Institut San Francisco was established in 1967 and since then supports cultural exchange and dialogue with its American partners. The focus areas of the Goethe-Institut San Francisco include art & technology, film and contemporary art from Germany. In addition to cultural programming like exhibits, screenings, concerts and workshops, the institute organizes public discussions pertaining to contemporary social-political topics.
“C/Change – the next dimension” is a project implemented by the Goethe-Institut San Francisco and is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. It is a follow-up project to the hugely successful “C/Change”, which was implemented together with the Gray Area. The aim of “the next dimension” is to showcase the prototypes, that were developed in the last project by international teams and focus on feminist technologies, digital democracies and planetary futures. The new project also seeks to strengthen and increase the build network of technologists, designers and artists.
Tactical Tech
Tactical Tech is an international NGO that engages with citizens and civil-society organisations to explore and mitigate the impacts of technology on society.
