Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America

by Christopher Wylie

Inside Cambridge Analytica, I saw what greed, power, racism, and colonialism looks like up close. I saw how billionaires behave when they want to shape the world in their image. I saw the most bizarre, dark niches of our society. As a whistleblower, I saw what big companies will do to protect their profits. I saw the lengths to which people will go to cover up crimes that others committed for the sake of a convenient narrative. I saw flag-waving “patriots” turn a blind eye to the defacement of the rule of law on the most important constitutional question of a generation. But I also saw all the people who cared and who fought back against a failing system. I saw journalists at The Guardian, The New York Times, and Channel 4 all working to bear witness to the crimes committed by Cambridge Analytica and the incompetence of Facebook. I saw my brilliant lawyers outmaneuver every threat that was thrown my way. I saw the kindness of people who came to support me and asked for nothing in return. I saw the tiny Information Commissioner’s Office, based in the parish town of Wilmslow, England, use what powers it could to take on an American technology giant––eventually issuing Facebook the maximum fine allowable in law for data breaches. And I saw members of Congress who were concerned and eager to learn about the brave new world we now find ourselves in.