The Great Hack

This is the story of a number of people who were involved with Cambridge Analytica, the big data processing company that changed the course of history by helping to get Trump elected in the US, and the UK out of the EU.

The most central player turned out to be one of the most influential in the election and the referendum: Brittany Kaiser, who, when she turned against the company, had all the information necessary to sink them forever.

There are many ethical issues involved in the collection of big data, and how it is used to manipulate people into buying, supporting, or even into being indifferent, and this film brings out many of those issues. The central role of Facebook (and its holding WhatsApp to a lesser degree) is crucial in this.

What is not addressed is how this is different from the lies politicians regularly tell their potential voters, who are equally targeted and ignorant of what they are being sold, and how that can be tackled when everyone seems to be living in an echo chamber these days.