Cambridge Analytica and Facebook have been accused of manipulating elections the world over, including Kenya's. PHOTO | DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS | AFP 23.03.2018
The exposè by the UK’s Channel 4 on the underhand shenanigans of Cambridge Analytica (CA) was brilliant.
A lot of time has gone into investigating the company that has been involved in election manipulations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Kenya and other countries.
The admissions, on camera, of the company’s role in our elections of 2013 and 2017 were especially interesting.
SHEEPISH
In early 2017, there were rumours that Jubilee (or the Executive on its behalf) hired had CA to assist it in the elections.
The rumours were denied, but after the Channel 4 exposè, it was gratifying to see the sheepish and reluctant admission by Jubilee that it had hired this company that seems to have no scruples when it comes to affecting elections.
Hiring a company like this one speaks volumes about Jubilee what stands for.
The childish attempts by some Jubilee acolytes to joke away the implications of CA’s involvement by saying there was no vernacular translation of social media belie the underlying worry.
For as time goes by, and as more dedicated and creative journalists dig deeper, and more insiders spill the beans, there is no telling what else will come out regarding our elections.
PROSTITUTES
What we now know is that CA admitted to branding Jubilee, doing “research” for Jubilee and writing policy papers and speeches.
But, a company prepared to send prostitutes to damage an opponent’s reputation; a firm that thinks that truth is not necessary in order to win; is a company willing to do much more than it admitted in the Channel 4 programme.
I will not be surprised in the least if information comes out in due course that CA had control of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commissions’s electronic transmission system and servers.
RAINS
The company certainly has the capacity to manipulate digital information, and it clearly had the will to do anything to help its client.
Could this be the key reason for IEBC’s continued refusal, to date, to obey the court order and open up its servers from August to public scrutiny?
Note that deletions can still be traced and the only way to truly destroy evidence of manipulation would be to physically destroy the servers.
So do not be surprised if we are soon told that the ongoing rains caused flooding in some warehouse where servers are maintained!
MANIPULATED
And remember it was this same regime that deported two of National Super Alliance's foreign consultants brought in to help with campaign.
The American Canadian were arrested in the dead of the night and put on a plane on dubious grounds.
From what I understand, one of their briefs was to identify threats to the electronic and internet system that could be manipulated.
Is this why they were so unceremoniously deported?
REBUTTAL
And did anyone notice the US Embassy and the Canadian High Commission maintained a loud silence as their citizens were so abruptly deported?
It is heartening that the Western press, after some confusion in August, finally saw through the manipulation of the elections after the Supreme Court annulled the results.
The New York Times, to its credit, issued a full rebuttal to its own previous editorial that blamed Nasa and Raila Odinga for the mess.
VISA BANS
But we have not seen a similar honesty from the Western diplomatic community regarding the August elections.
Led by the US, UK and Germany, the diplomatic community has instead gone against all its declared values in trying to force us to accept Jubilee as legitimate, including using threats of visa bans against people who want to exercise their rights!
And on the other hand, they have minimised the atrocities that Jubilee has wrought.
RETHINK
I wonder if these revelations will cause a rethink within those circles or are they so deep in with Jubilee that nothing matters and “alternative truths” will prevail?
At any rate, the revelations about CA are food for thought.
UNTRUTHS
If indeed CA did more than it has admitted so far, would that not amount to a coup, albeit a civilian one?
And what would that mean for this country and our future?
For a nation founded on lies, untruths and deliberate distortions will inevitably continue on that path.
mkiai2000@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment