cambridge-analytica mercer data-weaponization facebook bannon scl-group elections class-analysis
related: Robert Mercer · Rebekah Mercer · _Donald Trump Master Profile · _Ted Cruz Master Profile
What It Was
Cambridge Analytica. Data analytics company. Founded 2013 as subsidiary of SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories — a British military contractor). Robert Mercer: 90% owner ($15-20M invested). Steve Bannon: VP and board secretary ($125K+ compensation, $1-5M stake). Alexander Nix: CEO. Harvested personal data from 87 million Facebook users without consent through the “This Is Your Digital Life” app (developed by Aleksandr Kogan). Used psychographic profiling to build voter targeting models. Deployed for Ted Cruz’s 2016 primary campaign, then Trump’s general election campaign. FEC complaints filed for illegal coordination between Make America Number 1 super PAC and Trump campaign. Dissolved May 2018 following whistleblower Christopher Wylie’s revelations. Successor entity Emerdata — with Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer on the board — remains active.
The Data Harvest
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| App | ”This Is Your Digital Life” (personality quiz) |
| Developer | Aleksandr Kogan (Cambridge University) |
| Direct installs | ~270,000 users |
| Data harvested | 87 million Facebook profiles (via friends’ data through Open Graph API) |
| Data type | Psychographic profiles — personality traits, political preferences, behavioral patterns |
| Consent | None — users’ friends’ data harvested without knowledge or permission |
| Facebook market cap impact | $100B+ lost in days following March 2018 disclosure |
| Facebook fine | $5 billion FTC penalty (July 2019) |
The data was not merely demographic — it built psychographic profiles (the “OCEAN” model: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) that predicted emotional vulnerabilities and political susceptibilities. The targeting wasn’t who people are — it was how they could be manipulated.
The Political Deployments
Ted Cruz Primary (2015-2016):
Cambridge Analytica provided data targeting to the Cruz campaign. The Mercer-funded company served the Mercer-funded candidate — the same donor paid for both the weapon and the army that used it.
Trump General Election (2016):
After Cruz dropped out, the Mercer infrastructure pivoted to Trump within days. Cambridge Analytica was embedded in the Trump campaign’s digital operation. Trump paid Cambridge Analytica in September, October, and November 2016 for voter data and preference profiles. Bannon — Cambridge Analytica VP — simultaneously became Trump’s campaign CEO.
The FEC Violation:
Common Cause filed complaints with both the DOJ and FEC alleging Cambridge Analytica facilitated illegal coordination between Make America Number 1 super PAC (Mercer-funded) and the Trump campaign. The company served both entities — the legal wall between super PAC and campaign was fiction when the same data firm worked for both and the same donor funded both.
Money
Robert Mercer invested $15-20M in Cambridge Analytica. The company harvested 87 million Facebook users’ psychological profiles and deployed them as a voter manipulation tool for the candidates Mercer funded. The same donor paid for the data weapon, the candidates who used it, the media platform that amplified it (Breitbart), and the opposition research operation that provided the ammunition (GAI/Clinton Cash). Cambridge Analytica wasn’t a company. It was a component in an integrated political weapons system owned by a single family.
The Dissolution and Aftermath
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 2018 | Christopher Wylie whistleblower disclosure to The Guardian |
| March 2018 | Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer appointed to Emerdata board |
| May 2018 | Cambridge Analytica files Chapter 7 bankruptcy |
| 2019 | FTC complaint; company failed to contest |
| July 2019 | Facebook fined $5B (FTC) |
| Post-2018 | Emerdata remains active as successor entity |
Cambridge Analytica dissolved. Emerdata — the successor entity with Mercer family board members — continues operating as a data processing and political consulting firm. The company died. The capability survived. The family maintained control.
Brexit / Leave.EU Connection
Cambridge Analytica was hired as consultant by Leave.EU and UKIP during the 2016 Brexit referendum. Brittany Kaiser reported datasets provided to Leave.EU. Questions arose over whether Cambridge Analytica services constituted an unreported gift, potentially violating spending caps. The UK investigation concluded the company’s involvement was minimal “beyond some initial enquiries.” The international dimension reveals the scope of the Mercer investment: a data firm used to influence not just American elections but the political trajectory of allied democracies.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Cambridge Analytica (Tier 3)
- Wikipedia: Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal (Tier 3)
- The Guardian: Christopher Wylie whistleblower disclosures (Tier 2)
- FTC: $5 billion penalty and privacy restrictions on Facebook (Tier 1)
- Common Cause: Complaint against Cambridge Analytica (Tier 2)
- Campaign Legal Center: Coordination violation complaint (Tier 2)
research-status:: ready — $15-20M Mercer investment, 87M Facebook profiles, psychographic OCEAN model, Cruz→Trump deployment, FEC coordination complaint, $5B Facebook fine, Emerdata successor. 6 sources, Tier 1-3. All headers. Promoted Session 38m. content-readiness:: ready