We are looking for journalists, researchers and civil society investigators from across the world to join us for the third edition of our two-week online Summer School organised by Tactical Tech’s Data and Politics and Exposing the Invisible projects between the 17th - 28th July 2023.

Call for participants - Investigating the Influence Industry: Summer
School 2023

In 2008 the Barack Obama campaign revolutionised grass roots campaigning using the power of social media tools for supporter engagement, a feat that would be repeated again in 2012. In 2016, the Trump campaign was highly active on Facebook in particular. During that same election cycle, external nation-state actors were accused of engaging in a data-driven, social media focused misinformation campaign to further fuel division in the American electorate. That same year, across the Atlantic, the ultimately successful Voter Leave campaign was building a new data-driven voter analytics system with which to bolster the Leave campaign during the EU Membership - aka Brexit - Referendum. In 2018, it was exposed that Cambridge Analytica, one of the many data and digital strategy consultants working with political campaigns, had collected millions of Facebook users' data for political ad targeting. Since then, the role of social media, data and digital influence campaigns in election processes across the world have been under a close spotlight by regulators, civil society organisations, election monitors and tech companies themselves. During this time, Tactical Tech's Data &#x26; Politics research team and its international partners have been tracking commonly used digital and data-driven tools within digital election campaigning and how these are deployed in different political contexts across the globe.

Welcome to The Influence Industry Project

<ColouredLink href="/en/learn" theme="learn">Learn</ColouredLink> about, <ColouredLink href="/en/explorer/" theme="explore">explore</ColouredLink> research, and discover <ColouredLink href="/en/resources" theme="resources">resources</ColouredLink> on the industry using our personal data <TextIcon>data</TextIcon> to influence citizens <TextIcon>citizens</TextIcon> in political campaigns <TextIcon>campaign</TextIcon>.
Across the world, data on citizens <TextIcon>voters</TextIcon> is being collected, traded and utilised to influence their political views <TextIcon>influence</TextIcon>. Despite increased attention in recent years, it is still difficult to access information about the industry actors or the technologies that they use to sway citizens' political views <TextIcon>data_traces</TextIcon>. <ColouredLink href="/en/project/about/" theme="project">Our project</ColouredLink> aims to increase accessibility and understanding to strengthen civic capacity <TextIcon>capacity</TextIcon> to engage with politics.

The Influence Industry Project provides resources and guides about
the who, what, where and how personal data is used by political actors to
influence voters in political campaigns.

The Influence Industry Project provides learnings, resources
and guides to the who, what and how of the use of personal data on voters is
used in efforts to understand, engage and influence citizens in political
campaigns.

Highlights

The Influence Industry Project

Join us for the third edition of our two-week online Summer School organised by Tactical Tech’s <a href="https://ourdataourselves.tacticaltech.org/projects/data-and-politics/">Data and Politics</a> and <a href="https://exposingtheinvisible.org/en/">Exposing the Invisible</a> projects between the 17th - 28th July 2023.
We are inviting journalists, researchers and civil society investigators from across the world with a passion for conducting investigations into the political influence industry and how personal data and data-driven technologies are used to influence voters, elections and political processes.
Apply by filling in our lime survey <a href="https://lime.ttc.io/index.php/51153?lang=en">here</a> by (new deadline!) 6th July (midnight anywhere)
The Investigating the Influence Industry: Summer School will cover:
<ul>
<li>tools and tactics that political actors and the companies they work with are using to conduct political influence,</li>
<li>investigation techniques and cases specific to researching the political use of data-driven technologies and their surrounding industry,</li>
<li>networking and skill-sharing opportunities among participants to encourage connections with each other’s work and to advance this area of knowledge.</li>
</ul>
The sessions will be a mix of lectures, seminars and hands-on workshops. In addition, there will be extra sessions with guest speakers. The online sessions will be accompanied by resources provided by Tactical Tech's Data and Politics project.
<h3>To Apply</h3>
Apply by filling in our lime survey <a href="https://lime.ttc.io/index.php/51153?lang=en">here</a> by (new deadline!) 6th July (midnight anywhere)
Apply if you are:
<ul>
<li>an independent journalist </li>
<li>a civil society/'citizen' investigator or researcher working collaboratively or independently </li>
<li>a member of an NGO or other research organisation using and benefiting from investigations methods in the public interest </li>
<li>an academic or student researching a related topic</li>
<li>any other member of civil society with a demonstrated passion and curiosity for applying investigative methods and standards to document, verify and expose issues of public interest.</li>
</ul>
We particularly encourage you to apply if:
<ul>
<li>You are an experienced investigator or emerging investigator working in or with marginalised and disadvantaged (physical or digital) communities. </li>
<li>You have interest in or work on local/regional issues and have fewer opportunities to access cross-national collaboration and skill-sharing events </li>
<li>You wish to gain more skills and knowledge from others and connect with a network of experienced investigators and practitioners </li>
<li>You are passionate about starting your own investigation and want to learn more about techniques and safety measures you can apply. </li>
<li>We welcome applicants who are at the start of their research / investigative journey, from across the world, and who have a curiosity to learn from others' experiences, as well experienced researchers / investigators who wish to share skills and knowledge with others as well as to update their knowledge and skills.</li>
</ul>
Apply by filling in our lime survey: <a href="https://lime.ttc.io/index.php/51153?lang=en">https://lime.ttc.io/index.php/51153?lang=en</a> 
<h3>Selection process</h3>
Applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis. 
Please Note - this summer school provides a free learning and collaboration opportunity, and we do not provide stipends or grants for attending the online institute sessions.
<h3>Dates and Times</h3>
Online workshop between the 17th - 28th July 2023. The main course will take place on three half-days during each week. 
<h3>The Hosts</h3>
The Influence Industry Project is lead since 2016 by Tactical Tech’s Data and Politics team addressing the pervasive data-driven technologies used by political groups within elections and political campaigns. We’ve unpacked the technical processes of campaign apps, examined the spending on campaign and communication consultants, and worked with partners to investigate how data-driven tools are used in elections worldwide. 
Tactical Tech’s Exposing the Invisible (ETI) project promotes and enables the safe and ethical use of investigative techniques to expose wrongdoing and promote transparency in invisible processes. ETI provides regular workshops, investigation and training institutes,has been developing an online Kit for investigators, and facilitates a growing network of journalists, community investigators, artists, researchers, activists, technologists and NGOs who believe in the power of investigation as an important form of public engagement.

We are looking for journalists, researchers and civil society
investigators from across the world with a passion for conducting
investigations into the political influence industry and how personal data and
data-driven technologies are used to influence voters, elections and political
processes.

In order to help address this digital knowledge divide, Tactical Tech's Data &#x26; Politics is launching The Influence Industry Project: an intersection of research, learning and exploration of the Influence Industry of professional digital political campaigners, the data-driven tools in its arsenal and the global contexts where it operates. The project provides long-form resources and structured learning modules addressing fundamental questions about the influence industry and soon will also provide a window to explore the industry using a combination of verified data sources and research.
In 2008, Barack Obama's Presidential campaign revolutionised grassroots campaigning using the power of digital social media tools for supporter engagement. In 2016, Donald Trump's Presidential campaign made use of a host of new data-driven campaign tactics and was highly active on Facebook in particular. That same year, across the Atlantic, the ultimately successful Vote Leave campaign was building a new data-driven voter analytics system to bolster the Leave campaign during the Brexit Referendum. In 2018, Cambridge Analytica was exposed for having collected millions of Facebook users' data for political ad targeting. 
The role of social media, data and digital influence campaigns in election processes across the world is under scrutiny by regulators, civil society organisations, election monitors and tech companies themselves. During this time, Tactical Tech's Data &#x26; Politics research team and its international partners have been tracking commonly used digital and data-driven tools within digital election campaigning and how these are deployed in different political contexts. 
Despite the topic of digital political campaigning being in the public eye, the discussion and questions remain largely surface-level. The conversations revolve around the role of Facebook and focus on digital political ads as a product. The conversation needs to become more nuanced and broader: what does it mean for political cohesion and democratic principles that an industry with countless actors specialising in adapting the tools of digital marketing, commerce, fundraising and brand-building to political communication are mediating political campaigns, largely without transparency? 
Understanding the details of digital tools, data analytics and online digital strategies for voter segmentation, targeting and outreach is essential in order to understand how current democratic processes work. Expanding insights into the influence industry and how their practices are applied outside of a few cases covered by the media which are mostly in the US or Europe is essential to get a fuller grasp of how they operate and what the future might hold.

The Influence Industry Project: an intersection of research,
learning and exploration of the Influence Industry of professional digital
political campaigners, the data-driven tools in its arsenal and the global
contexts of where it operates. The project provides long-form resources,
structured learning modules addressing fundamental questions about the
Influence Industry and soon will also provide a window to explore the Industry
using a combination of verified data-sources and research by the Data &
Politics team.

The Influence Industry Project

Highlights

Call for participants - Investigating the Influence Industry: Summer School 2023

Welcome to The Influence Industry Project