Big Data Scandal: Are Parties Manipulating Voters?

It is a story that has had huge international implications and now it has hit a raw nerve right here in India. Facebook and a data analytics company called Cambridge Analytica are under fire after it turned out that Cambridge Analytica took the data of 50 million Facebook users without their consent and then used it to influence the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit referendum. Companies like these look at your social media profile, your friend lists, your perosnal information, which posts you've liked and then they use social media to influence your choices. A Channel 4 documentary in the UK also shows the head of Cmabrdige Analytica bragging about how they can launch smear campaigns for their clients to discredit their poltiical rivals by hiring prostitutes or offering bribes. However, in India, the story took a dramatic turn today as it turned out that Cambridge Analyica has an India arm which says it has worked for the Congress the BJP and the JDU.