The Influence Industry's Voter Literacy Resources are designed for voters, community organisers, and educators around the world navigating data-driven political influence. You can find materials to run a Voter's Guide workshop as well as self-guided learning tools from around the world.

The Influence Industry's Inform: Voter Literacy Resources are
designed for voters, community organisers, and educators around the world
navigating data-driven political influence. In these resources, you will find
materials for workshops and self-guided learning for voters around the world.

For Facilitators

For Voters 

Inform: Voter Literacy Resources

Explore 500+ companies operating in the business of political influence through our interactive and open database or read the case studies from us and our partnerships on the influence industry, its role in specific countries and regions, and our research methodologies.

In the process of researching and documenting how the Influence
Industry operates in different political contexts around the world, our
project and our partners examined over 500 companies that play a role in this
wider ecosystem — from global data brokers to local campaign consultancies. 

The Influence Industry Case Studies

The Influence Industry Explorer

The Influence Industry Learning Hub is an educational guide to help you learn about the role of private firms in political influence and the collection, analysis and sales of political data. The Learning Hub is based on half a decade of research in over 20 countries, expert consultation and our curated library of resources. 
Start from module 1 or dive into your module of choice if you already know what you’re interested in. Check out <ColouredLink href="https://influenceindustry.org/en/project/about/" theme="project">our team page</ColouredLink> if you want to get in touch with any queries, join our informational mailing list, or find out about our live workshops.

These modules will help you learn about how political actors —
such as political parties, candidates or candidate-endorsing campaigns —
relate to one another. 

Digital technologies and the data-centered economies are
revolutionising how we live, interact, provide for ourselves and debate the
complexities of the human experience.

Learning Modules

Learn about the Influence Industry

<ul>
<li>Defining Political Influence</li>
<li>The History of Personal Data</li>
</ul>

Module I

Introduction to Personal Data and Political Influence

<ul>
<li>The Political Data Technology Framework</li>
<li>Data as a Political Asset</li>
</ul>

Module II

Technologies Used by the Influence Industry

<ul>
<li>Defining your Research Questions</li>
<li>Sources for Your Investigation</li>
</ul>

Module III

Research Methods for Investigating the Influence Industry

<ul>
<li>Privacy and Data-Driven Political Campaigns</li>
<li>How Data Logic Alters Politics</li>
</ul>

Module IV

The Dilemmas of Using Personal Data for Political Influence

In this module, you will be guided through definitions of key terms and concepts that will provide a foundational base as you continue through the Learning Hub. You will first define what political influence is, in order to better understand why the influence industry exists. You will learn about the history of political communications and mediators, and you will concretely define personal data. In each section, you will find reflections and activities that accompany the text. 
Learning about the intricacies of the influence industry is important because only with details about its methods, an international perspective and an examination of the spectrum of companies involved can we understand how our political processes take place and how they can be regulated to ensure transparency. In this module, learn about the history and current environment of data-driven influence, how to define political data and the key concerns that should motivate us to be informed on this topic.

An introduction into the industry that influences voters and elections.

The influence industry is not tied to one party, politician or even country. It is a global - and ever-expanding - network of data brokers, communication consultants and campaign technologists who advise political parties and carry out communications in the political sphere.

This module aims to introduce key concepts that are core to understanding this industry, including: key features that identify the international scope of the influence industry; the history of political communications and the role of mediating third parties from press to PR; and defining personal data and its transformation into political data for influence campaigns.

Sections in Module 1

More Learning Modules

Identify the features of the influence industry

Understand the history of political communications and mediators

Introduction to Personal Data and the Influence Industry

In this module, you will be presented with The Political Data Technologies Framework developed by our Data and Politics team. The framework demonstrates how data-driven technologies used by the influence industry allow political actors to use personal data in three main categories: as an asset, as intelligence, and as influence. In each section, you will learn about a selection of technologies from each category and see how they have been applied around the world. You will also find reflections and activities to accompany the text.
Examining and understanding the tools and the mechanisms of the influence industry is critical for unpacking the ethics surrounding each tool - focusing too much on Facebook, for example, doesn't allow the conversation to include if the same concerns and regulations should be applied to the use of WhatsApp groups or A/B testing. 
By expanding their knowledge of the industry, regulators and policy-makers can ensure their work is not overly limited to well-known scandals or tech platforms that have been in the spotlight. Investigators, researchers and election monitors can observe and scrutinise the full range of tools and tactics applied by political groups. Voters can understand better where and how influence might appear to them, to take more agency over how they form their political opinions.

What technologies are used in digital political campaigning and how
does the Influence Industry use voter data to drive political communication?

Political influence campaigns engage a variety of tools
during election cycles. ‘Traditional’ political campaigning methods include
printed billboard and poster campaigns, radio and television political ads,
in-person rallies or door-to-door canvassing orchestrated by political
mediators. These methods were designed and implemented over time with changes
happening incrementally. By contrast, technologies used in digital
campaigning, sometimes called "campaign-tech" or "political ad-tech", have
accelerated in the past decade and are largely unregulated and nontransparent.
This chapter outlines a framework for understanding the different ways
data-driven tools can be understood (as an asset, as intelligence, or as
influence) with demonstrative examples from across the world. 

Sections for Module 2

Categorise uses of collected personal data within the Political Data
Technologies Framework

Learn about a sample of technologies used by the Influence Industry

Explore global examples and tools of the Influence Industry

In this chapter, you will be guided through the steps necessary for conducting an investigation into how political actors use personal data in political campaigns and how to form questions based on some of the concerns that arise at the intersection of privacy and digital election campaigning. The chapter draws on examples of investigating elections from around the world.
About the Author: <a href="https://www.praguecivilsociety.org/fellows/tetyana-bohdanova">Tetyana Bohdanova</a> is a researcher from Ukraine. Her work has been largely focused on election monitoring, digital security and voter engagement with an emphasis on how technology can be used within social movements and elections.

Guest author Tetyana Bohdanova wrote this module to guide
professionals on practical steps and tips to research the Influence Industry,
specifically the use of personal data in an electoral context.

In this module, hear from our guest author Tetyana Bohdanova
about the approach, methods and available tools for investigating the use of
personal data by political actors in an electoral context.  

Sections for Module 3

Learn how to formulate a research question and process

Assess your capabilities and identify any areas that will require outside
support in the research process 

Evaluate the political context in which you wish to conduct your research

The current political and economic systems that collect, process and sell data away from the public eye exploit individuals by misrepresenting the true cost of the exchange. Beyond that, when consumers don't have a viable alternative to the status quo, consent is less meaningful.
Understanding the impact of using personal data to create or enrich political influence requires a deeper comprehension of several already complex fields. There are many concerns about data-driven practices that require attention, including an inequality in access to the tools, which leads to increased gaps within society; as well as the accuracy and effectiveness of relying on computerised and quantified data to produce knowledge.
In this module, you will become familiar with several of the issues surrounding the current data-driven political campaigning model. This module is by no means exhaustive but can provide a basis to inform your work. The module will first examine the right to privacy and possible impacts of privacy disintegration. It introduces the concept of data logic and dissects the underlying assumptions of data logic. It also examines the effect of “permanent” campaigns, which are constantly enriching their databases, as well as what happens to the data during transfers of power or as leaders in tech become leaders in government or vice-versa.

Data collected by individual’s browsing habits and connected
devices has become linked to decision-making across industry. In this module,
you will be presented several of issues with the current data-driven political
campaigning model.

As data-driven decision making becomes increasingly embedded
in our lives, so do ethical questions about the same practices. Technology has
proven to develop, iterate and change faster than laws, regulations and
education systems, often leaving individuals exposed and their information at
risk. In the excitement of imagining the new possibilities that technology
offers, questions of security and lasting impact can be overlooked. This
chapter examines multiple reasons to interrogate the use of personal data in
political campaigns, many of which pertain to the security and capacity of
citizens to participate in politics.  

Sections for Module 4 

Identify several issues surrounding the use of personal data in political
campaigns

Connect the right to privacy to political identity

Contextualise concerns about the effectiveness of data analytics within
political influence