Around the world, as elections become increasingly data-intensive, our personal data is becoming a political asset for campaigns to leverage in pursuit of electoral success and political power. This educational short film explains to voters some of the ways in which our personal data is being used and alludes to the larger democratic consequences of the 'datafication' of politics. What does the development of the 'Influence Industry' mean for our democracies, and what can we do about it?
Watch the animation in English or Dutch to learn more:
If you want to dive deeper into the topic, check out our Voter’s Guide, which explains in accessible terms where political campaigns source personal data, what kinds of data they collect, and how they use it to target and persuade voters. The guide demystifies campaigning techniques like ‘digital listening’, ‘micro-targeting’ and ‘A/B testing’, and offers voters 7 essential tips to detox their personal data. The Voter's Guide is also available in Dutch here!
If Europe’s elections are to remain contests of campaigns’ political ideas and not of their digital strategies, the systemic challenges to democracy must not be overlooked by the fires of the present moment. Varoon Bashyakarla from our Data & Politics team writes for the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
In order to investigate the 'Influence Industry' in different contexts and countries, our Data & Politics project has partnered with a diverse range of organisations and individuals in the Global South. Find out more about the work these partners do.
Our Voter’s Guide explains how personal data is collected and used by political parties and candidates – and what voters can do about it. The seven tips are now available in both English and Dutch.
A new report, based on a roundtable with regional experts, looks at how the 'Influence Industry' operates in Sub-Saharan Africa. Read a summary on Medium by Amber Macintyre from our Data & Politics team.
The latest of over a dozen country studies from our Data & Politics team, carried out in collaboration with partners around the world, looks at the role of personal data in Dutch politics.
What does the proliferation of campaign apps mean for you? How do they collect our personal data, and what challenges do such technologies pose for our democracies?
Our co-founder Stephanie Hankey writes on Medium about misinformation on WhatsApp.
From Exposing the Invisible - The Kit: Two investigators trace their process of creating the project ad.watch, an open-research-style investigation into political advertising on Facebook. This case study follows the project’s evolution from a limited endeavour to a growing resource that facilitates investigations on political ads around the world.
As the world goes online amid the coronavirus pandemic, it is no surprise that politics is moving online too. Tactical Tech’s Data and Politics Team have identified five digital campaigning trends that we’re likely to see more of in the coming weeks and months.
A new guide and visual gallery from the Inside the Influence Industry project, looking at the global business of using data to sway voters.
One of 14 country studies looking at how data is used in political processes. This report, published in partnership with Coding Rights, looks at the private-public data trade in Brazil.
Our location reveals a wealth of information about us, not only about where we happen to be but also about what we are interested in, how we spend our time and what we value. This article explains what it is and how it's being used.
One of 14 country studies looking at how data is used in political processes. This report, published in partnership with Elonnai Hickok, looks at the use of digital platforms and technologies in Indian elections.
When you tweet your opinion about Brexit or Trump, you probably don't expect the content of your tweet to become part of an analysis of public opinion on the topic. This article explains the emerging field of digital listening and how it assess the feeling of individual potential voters and the overall public mood.
An essay exploring the concept of technofixes - the use of data and technology to solve social, environmental and political problems.
