How a Trump Contractor Decoded Your Thoughts
The Complex Web of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
The relationship between Cambridge Analytica and Facebook has been likened to a Hollywood thriller, with its mix of high-stakes players and dramatic twists. This includes a CEO reminiscent of a Bond villain, a reclusive billionaire, a conflicted whistle-blower, a data scientist turned political strategist, and an academic whose ethical practices have come under scrutiny. Alongside these figures, there's also the triumphant president and his influential family, making for a story that reads like a modern-day espionage tale.
While much of the focus has been on how Cambridge Analytica obtained data from over 50 million Facebook users and failed to delete it when instructed, there is another critical aspect: what the company actually did with this data. The methods employed by Cambridge Analytica represent a significant evolution in the use of analytics as a tool for generating insights and influencing public opinion.
Traditional vs. Modern Voter Segmentation
Pollsters have long used segmentation techniques to target specific voter groups, typically based on demographics such as gender, age, income, and education. These segments can also be formed around political affiliations or purchasing habits. For instance, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign utilized a sophisticated system named Ada, which employed advanced segmentation techniques similar to those used by Barack Obama’s team four years prior.
Cambridge Analytica, however, introduced a new dimension to this approach by incorporating psychographics into their targeting strategy. While demographics provide informational data about individuals, psychographics delve into behavioral traits, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of personality.
Understanding Personality Through Data
Traditionally, determining someone’s personality involved either building a close relationship over time or having them complete a personality test. Neither method is practical for pollsters. Cambridge Analytica found a third way through the work of University of Cambridge academic Aleksandr Kogan.
Kogan provided Cambridge Analytica with access to 270,000 personality tests completed by Facebook users via an online app he developed. Although this action violated Facebook's internal policies, Kogan was only banned from the platform in March 2018. Additionally, Kogan had collected data from the friends of the test-takers, resulting in data for approximately 50 million people.
The Power of Psychological Research
Decades of psychological research have shown that personality traits can be inferred from language use. Facebook patented a process in 2012 to achieve this, aiming to enhance targeted advertising by mapping post content and likes against the "Big Five" model of personality traits (OCEAN). A 2015 study demonstrated that Facebook data could generate accurate personality profiles using just 300 likes.
Kogan developed a similar model and partnered with Cambridge Analytica. With this data, combined with other sources, Cambridge Analytica created personality profiles for over 100 million registered US voters. It is alleged that they used these profiles for targeted advertising.
Tailored Advertising and Political Influence
Imagine being able to identify voters high in conscientiousness and neuroticism versus those high in extroversion but low in openness. Each group would respond differently to the same political ad. On Facebook, each individual could see an ad tailored to their personality, designed to elicit a specific response—whether voting for a candidate, not voting, or donating funds.
Cambridge Analytica developed numerous ad variations on themes such as immigration, the economy, and gun rights, all tailored to different personality profiles. There is no evidence that Clinton’s campaign had similar capabilities.
The Legacy of Behavioral Analytics
Despite the controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica, behavioral analytics and psychographic profiling are here to stay. These methods industrialize the practice of tailoring messages to individuals, a technique salespeople have long used. This approach to electioneering and marketing will likely remain a lasting legacy of Cambridge Analytica.
Additional Information
This article was updated on 13 February 2026 to clarify that while Michal Kosinski and David Stillwell's research demonstrated the effectiveness of using Facebook data to generate personality profiles, they were not involved with Cambridge Analytica, and their work was not used by the company.
Michael Wade, Professor of Innovation and Strategy, Cisco Chair in Digital Business Transformation, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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