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選舉後看網絡如何操控選情

選舉後看網絡如何操控選情

在香港,通常在重要選舉後,網絡言論突然正常番。但今次情況似乎不同,網上五毛戰後繼續勇戰。又話「今次輸唔夠,未教好泛民」,又話「泛民與本土合作」,他們想搞死泛民的,點合作呀?又話總辭。

最好笑是總辭,今次只是選輸了個位,咁就總辭?零蛋重作,傻迫!

我一般唔封鎖他們的,除了他們粗口壞舌,但通常不答他們嘴,我要看看他們如何癲法?

CNN 出了一篇應景的文章。它不是評論性文章。香港的所謂XXX輸的幾個原因,這些文章大概唔駛睇。CNN的題為 Fashion's role in Cambridge Analytica's 'cyber warfare, 的文章是由搞到滿城風雨的 Cambridge Analytica 的前分析員Christopher Wylie 在一個有關時裝為主題的沙龍上的發言。

他披露了Cambridge Analytica 如何利用facebook 的8千7百萬個用戶的資料操控美國大選。

As research director at Cambridge Analytica, Wylie used data harvested from 87 million Facebook users to produce algorithms that he says influenced the 2016 US presidential election.

原來今次發揮最大威力的是,Cambridge Analytica 不單止網羅了一班計算機專家,它還網羅了一些心理學家。

What makes this especially irksome is the emphasis on specific personality traits. Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism (the "big five" identified in a psychological model known as OCEAN) were the key traits mentioned.

它們的方法是分析用戶的個人衣著分析到其性格和投票傾向。這還不夠,因為正常人的投票取態是不容易唆擺的。好似在今次補選,我們看到網上的各種理由叫泛民支持者唔好投票,你估對正常人有冇用呢?

Targeting vulnerability

最可怕的是,Cambridge Analytica 從選民群體中找出有人格障礙的人,並集中向這些人宣傳。

But others listed in the materials shared by Wylie included depression, anger and vulnerability. In other words, people were being segmented on the basis of their mental stability. Then, if they were considered vulnerable to persuasion, they were targeted with political messaging. This is where the story starts to take on dystopian overtones.

由這裡我們看到,那些容易受到網上五毛影響的香港選民大都是傻仔。網上五毛只是利用我們的臉書影響傻仔,其目的是混淆泛民的戰鬥力。

這就是為什麼網上的那班契弟和五毛每每在選後扮乖巧,忽然失憶,好像回復正常,得閒時駡吓大陸。他們其實是留D彈藥在下次再呃人。情況如民建聯那班流氓臭檔的殺傷力不及獨立人士陳凱欣。

Christopher Wylie 進一步說,人們重視衣著品味,但時裝界的品牌客觀上塑造了選民的政治傾向。

"The shame, the colonialism, the racial biases, the toxic masculinity, the fat-shaming that industry puts out -- and has been putting out for decades -- is exactly what Cambridge Analytica sought to exploit when they were seeking to undermine people and manipulate them."

The message, in simple terms: Stop making people feel bad, Fashion. It makes them easy targets for untoward digital dealings.

這更加致命的,政權如何利用一般人的習慣想法操控人們,(即一般港人不喜歡搞搞震的習性,以此攻擊民主派),不是本文的討論重點。

Christopher Wylie 的發言中心是,民主政治不是從政治開始,而是從一些與政治完全無關的東西,從人們的身邊事物開始。

今次選後還是咁凶險,我估是大陸佬見到泛民今次咁蠢,諗住食過返尋味,認為可以贏埋DQ第三席。若我的估計對,這場網上打飛機會一直打到下次新東補選。

現在又冇端端搞個火頭,玩鳩杜汶澤。我哋已經好唔得閒啦!多謝哂!

網上不斷有人說:“點都唔應含住投犯民”。這是你個人的事,完全無問題,但當你們的目的是向網絡弱勢社群進行惡意宣傳,這情況就有點像無良美容店向弱智人士強銷一樣。

我們這裡只有投票派和不投票派,泛民的支持者,認著他們。

「人们啊,要警惕!」——人妖之間,劉賓雁。

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參考

Fashion's role in Cambridge Analytica's 'cyber warfare,'

Updated 1st December 2018

OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29:

Written by

By Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN

Oxfordshire, England

Fashion is a powerful tool. Covering our bodies in clothes or adornments is an almost universal behavior, and how you dress is one of the most obvious indicators of who you are.

Show me a list of people, and the fashion brands they buy from or engage with, and I could easily produce a series of assumptions about each one. I might make an educated guess about their spending power, or how fashion-conscious they are (or aren't). I might even be able to give you a sense of their character -- at least, I'd feel fairly confident distinguishing the peacocks from the shrinking violets.

The future of fashion: Complex, diverse, and more vocal than ever

Speaking at The Business of Fashion's Voices conference in the UK on Thursday, data analyst and Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie took this relatively simple idea to its worrying but logical extension: Like any tool, he said, fashion can become a weapon in the wrong hands.

"Fashion data was used to build AI models to help Steve Bannon build his insurgency and build the alt-right," he told the conference. "We used weaponized algorithms. We used weaponized cultural narratives to undermine people and undermine the perception of reality. And fashion played a big part in that."

He would certainly know. As research director at Cambridge Analytica, Wylie used data harvested from 87 million Facebook users to produce algorithms that he says influenced the 2016 US presidential election. And having previously worked toward a PhD in fashion trend forecasting, he knew that someone's choice of clothing is one of the best ways to unpick their identity.

On stage, Wylie explained how people's preferences for fashion brands on social media were used to target specific groups with right-wing political messages. Although he has previously divulged how people's online activity was used to predict political leanings, it was the first time that he publicly detailed fashion's role -- and importance -- in Cambridge Analytica's models.

During his presentation, Wylie showed various charts and graphics demonstrating how the now-defunct firm mapped clothing brands against personality traits.

"There are strong relationships between the brands, style and aesthetics that people engage with, and how they see themselves and their identity," Wylie said during the talk.

Christopher Wylie speaks on stage during The Business of Fashion's Voices conference in Oxfordshire, England. The chart compares supposed personality traits of individuals who like Wrangler versus Abercrombie & Fitch.

Christopher Wylie speaks on stage during The Business of Fashion's Voices conference in Oxfordshire, England. The chart compares supposed personality traits of individuals who like Wrangler versus Abercrombie & Fitch. Credit: John Phillips/Getty Images for The Business of Fashion

Brands like Wrangler, the jeans company, and the American student favorite Abercrombie & Fitch were compared and contrasted. Wrangler is "more cowboy, older," and more "modest" than Abercrombie, Wylie said. People who like yoga-wear brand Lululemon "are more extroverted," while L.L. Bean fans are conscientious but "low in openness." Other brands featured included Nike, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Armani, H&M, Elle and Vogue.

The simple, palatable takeaway is that modest, traditional, conventional brands tend to be favored by those with more conservative ideals, while provocative, directional brands, like Kenzo, were more likely to be worn by the liberal-minded.

Targeting vulnerability

The idea that advertisers might target us based on the brands we like, follow, talk about or engage with is hardly new. Nor is the story that Cambridge Analytica used "hyper-profiling" to target different groups for political gain.

More interesting, however, is Wylie's claim that fashion preferences are statistically among the strongest indicators of our personalities -- and that they were a particular focus at Cambridge Analytica.

What makes this especially irksome is the emphasis on specific personality traits. Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism (the "big five" identified in a psychological model known as OCEAN) were the key traits mentioned.

But others listed in the materials shared by Wylie included depression, anger and vulnerability. In other words, people were being segmented on the basis of their mental stability. Then, if they were considered vulnerable to persuasion, they were targeted with political messaging. This is where the story starts to take on dystopian overtones.

According to Wylie, and as reported by The Business of Fashion, "consulting psychologists encouraged researchers at the firm to ask more questions on aesthetic and stylistic preferences for clothing as they were found to be strong signifiers of traits that were used as a primary means to identify people who were susceptible to joining the alt-right."

Having helped create what he called -- in typically bellicose terms -- an "informational weapon of mass destruction," Wylie then ended his talk by turning responsibility over to the fashion industry. Those in the room had "created the battlefields" of a culture war, he said before directly challenging them to fix the problem.

"We need you guys to do a better job at cultivating our cultural narratives, for our own national security and for the preservation of our democracy," he said.

Stella McCartney: 'Fur's not sexy, not fashionable, and not cool'

"The shame, the colonialism, the racial biases, the toxic masculinity, the fat-shaming that industry puts out -- and has been putting out for decades -- is exactly what Cambridge Analytica sought to exploit when they were seeking to undermine people and manipulate them."

The message, in simple terms: Stop making people feel bad, Fashion. It makes them easy targets for untoward digital dealings.

A call to arms

It was difficult to get a sense of how the CEOs and other fashion industry figures in the room felt about Wylie's rallying cry. There was loud clapping, and most people stood to cheer eventually, but the room didn't exactly shake. Just hours later, designer Alber Elbaz attracted a more kinetic reaction by ending his own talk by blasting out Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and dragging people up on stage for a dance.

Did Wylie tell the industry something it already knew? Or is this another case of negative news overload -- just another horrible story about the US presidential election and data?

There are, of course, fashion brands that understand how to balance looking good and doing good. Some of them were represented at the conference.

Stella McCartney, for instance, has been working towards sustainability in fashion for nearly 20 years, and she used the event to announce two new green initiatives: A United Nations charter for sustainable fashion, launching officially on December 10 at the UN's annual climate change conference, and Stella McCartney Cares Green, a new arm of her charity platform.

But whether the fashion industry has the power, or the collective desire, to defend us from the cultural cyber warfare foretold by Wylie, remains to be seen. The fashion world is already tackling a number of troubling issues right now: diversity and inclusion, the treatment of models, human rights in garment factories, sustainability, the fur question. Solving some of these would, indirectly, constitute a start, as it would help craft more positive narratives for brands in need, but the road looks long.

As for Wylie, H&M announced that it has hired him as its director of research. The high street retailer is attempting to use AI and data to optimize its supply chains, with one of the outcomes -- if all goes well -- being the reduction of textile waste produced by over-ordering. Perhaps, having held a mirror up to the fashion industry, Wylie now has the chance to make amends and take up his own call to arms.