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 is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. We promote knowledge of the German language abroad and foster international cultural cooperation. We convey a comprehensive image of Germany by providing information about cultural, social and political life in our nation. Our cultural and educational programmes encourage intercultural dialogue and enable cultural involvement. They strengthen the development of structures in civil society and foster worldwide mobility.
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.
