Wednesday's announcement by the sinister data analysis / manipulation firm Cambridge Analytica (CA) that they were initiating bankruptcy proceedings because of fleeing clients should be met with real skepticism. While their exposure during the 2016 elections as a tool of white supremacist and CA co-founder Steve Bannon to suppress the vote for Hillary Clinton through targeted social media messaging was damaging, their most immediate cause for failure was their Facebook data theft scandal.
However, an in-depth report by BBC indicates that the closure of CA may not be the end of their right-wing efforts. The ex CEO of CA, Alexander Nix, is a director on the board of directors of Emerdata, Ltd. along with wingnut financier Robert Mercer's daughters Rebekah and Jennifer, and Johnson Chun Shun Ko, a Chinese businessman with ties to right-wing mercenary supplier Erik Prince. The Mercers were key financial backers of CA. Whistleblower Christopher Wylie, who led data research efforts at CA, tweeted,
"Remember: Cambridge Analytica specialises in disinformation! We need to make sure their shutdown is not just some rebranding or a way to hide from investigations."Indeed, we can't let this cast of data criminals out of our sight. The 2018 elections are six months away, and it's a given that they'll be working to shift the U.S. elections to the Rethuglicans under new names.
