Christopher Wylie

Sometimes you've got to rate a book for its importance above all else. MindF*ck is such a book. It consumed my mental bandwidth and left me wanting to learn more. It changed how I engage with social media and will stay with me long after I put it down. Despite some significant flaws, MindF*ck is getting a 5/5.

Its content and insight are the book’s best features. It ought to be required reading for internet users. Digital influence is powerful and already shaping our world; Cambridge Analytica is just the most well-known iteration. Wylie weaves together technology, politics, psychology, history, and even fashion and colonialism, to present how this has developed. I found the casual but informed writing style of a twenty-something flamboyant party-boy to be a welcomed departure from the stuffy political memoirs typically written by ageing retirees. Wylie injects the story with his personality, bringing some levity to what could otherwise be a very dry operational account. The blend of story and facts kept me engaged.

However, Wylie's obvious bias creates grounds for distrust. Despite vehemently opposing these tools, I get the sense that if Cambridge Analytica had contracted with Clinton's campaign, rather than Trump's, Wylie would still be working for them. His black and white (read: blue and red) sense of right and wrong are far too simplistic. He misses the opportunity for a more nuanced discussion. Furthermore, I don't buy his naivety and tone of exoneration. It is far too convenient.

Despite all that, completely worth the read. Just make sure you're thinking about it.… (mehr)