Category: Elections

Predictive analytics provides politicians and other stakeholders interested in electoral behavior with sound tools to evaluate peoples attitude and possible outcomes of the elections. The primary tools employed are predictive modeling, data mining, and machine learning (Buresh & Pavone, 2018). Researchers have developed numerous techniques to improve the effectiveness of diverse methods, but new tools appear and contribute to the development of the field (Buresh & Pavone, 2018; Kennedy et al., 2017). For instance, Swani and Tyagi (2017) offered a method incorporating traits of Big Data as the basis for Data Mining through the utilization of Apache Hadoop. Considerable attention is paid to the effectiveness of such traditional methods used in the prediction of electoral behavior as polls (Buresh & Pavone, 2018; Kenett et al., 2018). There is still no definite conclusion regarding the potential of election surveys as researchers provide evidence displaying effective and the benefits and downsides of this method. However, the research on predictive analytics in voter behavior analysis is not confined to exact instruments that can be employed.

The type of data to be analyzed is an important area of inquiry, and the focus on social media is apparent. Grover et al. (2019) explored the effects of social media discussions and concluded that networking and social media influence voter behavior. Another conclusion is the relevance of the data extracted from social media to predict voting trends. However, the predictive power of the analysis of social media discussions is limited, which is evident from certain studies. For instance, Vepsäläinen et al. (2017) found that the data extracted from Facebook was not instrumental in predicting voting behaviors in Finland. Smith & Gustafson (2017) noted that the analysis of searches related to the use of social media (such as Wikipedia) could be more illustrative compared to discussions and other types of information.

In addition to social media use in predicting voter behavior, researchers analyze the relevance of diverse sources of information and trends. Dalege et al. (2017) explained that network structure could shed light on the influence of peoples attitudes on voting decisions. As an illustration of this relationship, it was found that peoples sentiment concerning the Ebola outbreak had a significant impact on voter behavior as people had enhanced inclinations to conform to the current popular opinion (Beall et al., 2016). Peoples political views, and as a result, their voting behavior is also affected by their personal ideologies and beliefs that are not related to political aspects. For instance, sexism proved to have a substantial effect on presidential elections in the USA in 2016 (Ratliff et al., 2017). The analysis of different views and public opinion has proved to be a relevant area that can help in predicting voter behavior.

In conclusion, this brief literature review displays the most apparent trends in the current research on predictive analytics in political sciences. Researchers pay attention to such fields as exact statistical tools, diverse analytical instruments, appropriate sources of data, as well as numerous aspects of peoples lives that can have an impact on their decisions during elections. One of the most discussed topics in academia sat present is the utilization of social media in predictive analytics. Researchers explore diverse methods of the integration of these sources into their research and the application of different statistical tools in social media content analysis.

References

Beall, A. T., Hofer, M. K., & Schaller, M. (2016). Infections and elections. Psychological Science, 27(5), 595-605.

Buresh, D. L., & Pavone, T. (2018). Why no one knew that Hillary Clinton would lose the 2016 election. American Journal of Political Science Review, 1-19.

Dalege, J., Borsboom, D., van Harreveld, F., Waldorp, L. J., & van der Maas, H. L. J. (2017). Network structure explains the impact of attitudes on voting decisions. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-11. Web.

Grover, P., Kar, A., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Janssen, M. (2019). Polarization and acculturation in US Election 2016 outcomes  Can twitter analytics predict changes in voting preferences? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 145, 438-460.

Kenett, R. S., Pfeffermann, D., & Steinberg, D. M. (2018). Election pollsA survey, a critique, and proposals. Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application, 5(1), 1-24.

Kennedy, R., Wojcik, S., & Lazer, D. (2017). Improving election prediction internationally. Science, 355(6324), 515-520.

Ratliff, K. A., Redford, L., Conway, J., & Smith, C. T. (2017). Engendering support: Hostile sexism predicts voting for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 22(4), 578-593.

Smith, B., & Gustafson, A. (2017). Using Wikipedia to predict election outcomes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 81(3), 714-735.

Swani, L., & Tyagi, P. (2017). Predictive modelling analytics through data mining. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 4(9), 5-11.

Vepsäläinen, T., Li, H., & Suomi, R. (2017). Facebook likes and public opinion: Predicting the 2015 Finnish parliamentary elections. Government Information Quarterly, 34(3), 524-532.

United States presidential election has seen a very diverse group of supporters who greatly influenced the outcome of the voting process. The election of 2008 showed how a minority group can have a great impact on the result. Barack Obama was chosen as the new president of the United States of America. He has received a large amount of support from the Hispanic population. This led him to change the attitude of many people towards Hispanics. Obama has put in place several changes that benefit his followers. In turn, he continues to receive the support of his loyal Hispanic voters.

The 2008 presidential election can be considered a major historical event, as the percentage of the Hispanic population that voted for Obama was the highest ever. The total amount of the Hispanics who voted for the new president made up 67% of all Latino population. This happened because Obama was involved with the racial minorities for some time. Before the election of 2008, Barack Obama has been actively involved in the politics and the policies that influenced the rising Hispanic population. He believed that it was important that all people who live in America are considered as one, everyone having a fair share of the rights and freedoms. His goal was to unite all the people and get rid of the division, so that the whole nation consists of Americans and not Hispanics, Blacks and Whites. The biggest amount of the Latino population that voted for Obama was in Florida. He has received the support of 57% of the Hispanic population. This is a turn in the other direction, as the Latinos have been favoring the republican presidential candidates, as happened with Bush in the year 2004. In New Jersey Barack Obama has received 78% of the votes, in Nevada 76% and California 74%. Another statistic shows that a great amount of the voters were female and their influence on other voters in general was very significant (Carr 180).

Such an amount of support for Obama happened for several reasons. The Hispanic population is in great need of better education for their families, better healthcare, and jobs. Obamas goal was to change the policies in a way that would favor the Hispanic population and create an equal opportunity for everyone. For example, during the Bush administration, there was a program called No Child Left Behind, which was directed at bettering the education and providing an opportunity for Hispanic children to get high quality and respective education. But in reality, this did not happen, as the schools were hit with taxes and other penalties that decreased the opportunities, instead of creating them. This created an outrage because the Hispanic community believed George Bush and gave him their support. When the promises were not kept Latinos were disappointed in the government and started to pay more attention to the elections themselves and people who were presenting their candidacy. There were fears that with the election of the new president in 2008, their support will be less significant, as before they were very supportive but the promises made were not kept. As the next president, Obama was also a supporter of Hispanic civil rights, immigration and economic empowerment. An important aspect that was included in his campaigns was the creation of more accessible positions in politics for Hispanics and particularly women. He acknowledged that the political stage is greatly misrepresentative of one of the largest and fastest-growing minority groups in the United States. The fact that he gave such attention and care towards the Hispanics and specifically women, made him look like a very fair individual. He created an image of a person who would fight for the rights of minorities and more specifically Hispanics. They consider themselves a large part of the American society because they have lived in this country for decades and helped build infrastructure, as well as support the rest of the population of the United States (Cha-Jua 4).

One of the major goals of Obama was to take an in-depth look at the needs of the Hispanic youth and analyze the requirements that must be set forth in the education system. The education has to be reflective of the culture and consider the uniqueness of the Hispanic background. As the American society is a very competitive one, minority groups are often underrepresented and thus are always at a disadvantage. The population and American culture strive towards individual goals and rights and sometimes the society leaves people in need without any help. In the race for the economic power and freedom of the person, the society and the government focused their goals on the world economy and the bettering of the general position in the country. It was expected that the 2008 election will change things for the better. In 2009, Obama has produced his plan on how he is determined to change the educational system. It was an educational reform and one of its major goals was to better the educational standards and the assessment itself. He was determined to increase the pay for the teachers, establish world-class national standards and most importantly, pay great attention to the early childhood education. He was also concerned with the criteria of higher education and was planning on implementing several changes (King 15). This clearly shows that Barack Obama is closely familiar with the problem of the Hispanic community. He shares the belief that education is very important and that it is a growing problem in the Latino community. The fact that one of his major goals was to change education, is what granted him the support of the Hispanic population. Their goals seem to focus on the same thing and this became the connecting link between the government and the community. Another important matter that Obama addressed was the immigration policy. He admitted that a lot of people did not support the idea of changing any policies on this issue. In the earlier days of the United States there were a lot of people of Hispanic descent who moved to America and decided to start a new life. They helped build railroads, communication lines and cities. As Obama is of foreign background himself, he realizes how important it is for people to feel the support of the government, in the acknowledgment of the contributions that the Hispanic community has made. Also, Obamas promise to better healthcare was met with great support from the Hispanic population. But, unfortunately, these changes did not take place during his presidency. This happened because the time was very unstable; the crisis-affected every aspect of the government and the American culture. Obama had to focus all his efforts on keeping the economy stable and attending to what was most important at the moment. This greatly affected the Latinos population, as this was one of the reasons they gave their votes to him. Obama seems determined to stand by his promises but in the present time no changes have been implemented. Currently, the conditions in schools are very poor for Hispanics. Often, they are being demoralized and marginalized. The symbolic racism that goes on is unacceptable and creates very harsh conditions for the students. It prevents them from reaching their goals and getting a proper education. The Hispanic community is devastated by the conditions that are present in the education system. Even though they are a large part of the population, they are unable to change the policies in their favor. The Latino population in the education system is growing very rapidly. Currently, the Hispanic students comprise 41% of the student population in the 10 major school districts in the United States. The fact that they are unable to receive a better education could have a very negative effect on the whole population and society of the United States. If the children are unable to get proper education, they will not be able to have better jobs once they grow up. If half of the American population is unable to support the economy, the country itself will be greatly affected. The economic consequences could be devastating to the nation and all of this depends on the Hispanic population. The statistics show that only 7 out of 100 students of Hispanic background were able to enroll in the four-year university program (King 30). This is a very disappointing fact, as United States strives to have one of the highest morals and best human rights in the world. Eventually, this becomes a vicious circle where parents of the young Hispanic population did not receive a respective education and in turn their children are unable to receive one either. In 2009, there was a proposal to change one-third of the schools into private operations, where Hispanics would have a better opportunity to receive education. It has received great support and almost took place but at the same time the opposition was stronger. Their argument was that public education must stay public and that the making of schools private would marginalize the population even more, as it reinforces the better treatment of certain groups, whereas the goal of democracy is to give everyone an equal opportunity (King 37).

There is a great problem in the Hispanic community. The children are very much dependent on their parents for the provision of adequate education. This dependence of the youth on their parents can be seen in all societies and nations. The fact that this happens in the United States is unacceptable. The Hispanic population is forced to do their best with very poor conditions of living. A great part of the Latino population does not have legal citizenship papers and is considered refugee. This creates another problem in them getting jobs and proper education. Because of this, people are forced to work in very poor conditions and for low pay. Also, the safety concern in such places is very low and in case something does happen there is no reimbursement for the person who is hurt or loses the ability to contribute. There is a great amount of inequality in society. Latino children are forced to grow up in overcrowded communities with no medical insurance and unsafe conditions. The fact that parents rely on the education system so heavily and believe that proper schooling will grant an opportunity for their children to gain social status and a bright future, leads parents to work in the worst conditions. Even though discrimination policies are in place, the Hispanics are still marginalized, working for low wages and with no opportunity for advancement. It is obvious that as with other races there is segregation and discrimination, rooted deep into the social and political system (Carr 192).

The differential and unequal treatment of the Latino population of the United States can be traced as far back as the 50s. At the end of the 60s the movement against marginalization and inequality has taken force. The interesting fact is that the fight against racism started through the education system and actively continues today. Chicanos began the fight with the drawing up of strategies and changes that must be made to the school system. Many times they have challenged the school system and demanded changes. There were numerous lawsuits and often schools would have open demonstrations. It was very common for teachers to punish students for speaking Spanish and apply infractions related to the dress code. In response to such treatment, in 1968-1969, an organization called ARMAS-Advocating Rights for Mexican-American Students was formed. Houston was one of the major arenas for the demonstrations. At one time, an estimated 500 hundred students walked out of the schools, all over Huston, to protest. Unfortunately, these demonstrations had no effect. There was a seeming attempt towards integration, where the school bus would be required to take black, white and Hispanic students to school together. But what happened was that Hispanics and blacks were paired up and taken to school separately from the white population. This created an outrage but the system explained it as the Hispanics being treated as symbolic whites. The riots continued but without any result (Behnken 229). This shows that American history has always treated Hispanics differently from whites and the struggle continues today.

It is true that there have been some changes towards the Hispanics treatment in the past decade. But it is very minuscule compared to the bigger picture. Obama has taken several steps to make the problem known. For example, during his presidency there were two Latinas appointed to key positions. Dr. Juliet V. Garcia was appointed the president of the University of Texas-Brownsville, which is a great move forward. She is a part of Obamas transition team in the fight for the changes in the education system in favor of Hispanics. Cecilia Munoz who is the senior VP of the Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation at NALEO, was given the position of the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (Rice 1). This is a great step towards the Hispanic involvement with the politics of the country. Not to mention that an even greater number of Latino population has been following the elections and the government programs that are put in place. The organization called 100 Hispanic Women is taking drastic steps in changing the system. Their approach has become more aggressive and they are not afraid to voice their opinions. The rights and freedoms of the American citizens are a great tool for the Hispanic population to use. In the modern times there is no allowance for open racism and discrimination and the Latino population is making great use of this fact. The National Hispana Institute states that between years 1996 and 2006 there was a great increase in the Hispanics who were elected to office. The statistics show that the increase was local, as well as national and has reached a 73% increase. Also Latinos who were elected rose but were not as significant and constituted a 26% change (Rice 1).

On September 15^th, 2009, the administration of Barack Obama has proclaimed a National Hispanic Heritage Month. In the proclamation it is said that Hispanics are a great part of the American history. It is acknowledged that they have greatly contributed to the history and well-being of the country. Their contributions have made America what it is today. They have played a major role in the changes of many policies and have participated in almost all aspects of American life, from schools to employment and the state. Hispanic culture has become a part of the diverse society that strives towards excellence in all the beginnings and most importantly in education, which is so valuable for everyone. Obama proclaimed that from September 15^th to October 15^th, is the month of the Hispanic Heritage and this is considered an important step in the right direction (Obama 1).

In a White House blog online, October 19, 2010, Obama states in relation to the growing Hispanic population:

They have had a profound and positive impact on our country through, among other things, their communitys strong commitment to family, faith, hard work, and service& Our country was built and continues to thrive on its diversity, and there is no doubt that the future of the United States is inextricably linked to the future of the Hispanic community (Obama 2010).

This shows that Obama is very much oriented towards changing the present and future of the Hispanic population. It is admitted that they played an important role in the making and shaping of society.

There is no denying that the Hispanic population of the United States has endured a lot of suffering and limitations. For a very long time, their treatment was based on discrimination, not any less hurtful than discrimination towards other minorities. Latinos have taken much effort to fight for their rights and contribute to the democracy of the United States. Their fight has come a long way and many things have been changed. The election of 2008 had big plans and goals towards the Hispanics and Barack Obama made a promise to the community that he will go through with the promises. Even though some changes are hard to make, the future seems filled with hope for the Hispanic community. The current government has created hope for the Hispanic community and there is little doubt that Obama will not stand by his word. This can be seen in the support that he presently receives and he is determined to make his best efforts in keeping his promises to the Latinos.

Works Cited

Behnken, Brian. Fighting Their Own Battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans, And The Struggle for Civil Rights in Texas, North Carolina, United States: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. Print.

Carr, Paul. The Phenomenon of Obama and the Agenda for Education. Charlotte, United States: IAP, 2011. Print.

Cha-Jua, Sundiata Keita. Obama, The Rise Of The Hard Right, Arizona And Texas, And The Attack On Racilized Communities Studies. Black Scholar 40.4 (2010): 2-6. Print.

King, Desmond. Still a House Divided: Race and Politics in Obamas America, Princeton, United States: Princeton University Press, 2011. Print.

Obama, Barack 2010, President Obama and the Hispanic Community. Web.

Obama, Barack H. Proclamation 8417National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2009. Daily Compilation Of Presidential Documents (2009): 1. Print.

Rice, Cheryl A. Latinas and the 2008 Presidential Election. The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education. (2009): 34. Print.

Introduction

The 2000 presidential elections in America saw a heated contest between George W. Bush, who vied as a republican candidate and Al Gore, who was a democrat candidate. The then incumbent president Bill Clinton was leaving the office after serving for two terms in the office as provided by the countrys constitution. His regime had been criticized for numerous problems that rocked the country at that time (Dershowitz 18).

After the elections, Bush was declared to have narrowly won with two hundred and seventy one electoral votes compared to his opponent Gore who garnered two hundred and sixty six electoral votes. Apart from Florida and Tennessee, Bush was seen to win in all the other southern states with a big margin. Gore closed the gap by managing to sweep most of the Northeastern states except New Hampshire. He also won in most of the upper Midwest, pacific coast states of Washington, California, Hawaii and Oregon. As the counting night progressed, results obtained from most of the small and medium states showed the two candidates being close to one another. Results from Florida were seen as the ones that could determine the winner of the elections.

On tallying the final national results, it was found that Bush had a total of two hundred and forty six electoral votes while Gore had secured two hundred and fifty five electoral votes. For one to be declared the winner, he needed to have a total of two hundred and seventy electoral votes. Results from two small states: New Mexico and Oregon were yet to be received (Dershowitz 24). A lot of attention, however, was being paid on Floridas results as they carried twenty five electoral votes.

Later, it was declared that Gore had won in the two smaller states. A controversy arose on Floridas results. It was declared that votes were to be recounted to determine the winner. This made the presidential results take over a month before being made public about who won the elections.

On the day of elections, few minutes before the voting exercise was over, the media declared that Gore had won Florida votes. Their judgment had been made based on the exit polls. As people voted and left the polling station, the media could interview them on their favorite candidate. Most of the interviewed electorates appeared to prefer Gore. This made the media make an early announcement that Gore had carried the day in Floridas elections.

As the actual vote counting commenced, Bush was seen to lead Gore by more than one hundred thousand votes. Networks, such as Fox News announced that Bush had emerged the winner and thus was the duly elected president. There were still some votes remaining uncounted and that came from counties that were mainly Democratic supporters. As these votes started being counted, Gore was again seen advancing towards Bush and by 4:30 in the morning, their difference was only two thousand votes.

This made Fox News revoke their initial announcement that Bush had won in Florida State. In the background, Gore had privately informed Bush that he accepted the defeat. On hearing the results, he withdrew his concession. This was because he knew that the difference in their vote count would lead to a compulsory recounting and he might emerge the winner. After recounting, Bush had led Gore with three hundred votes which were later boosted by military ballots from overseas to nine hundred (Dershowitz 31).

Despite Bush being declared winner of the election there were numerous flaws in the media coverage, voting system as well as in the judgment made by the Supreme Court. Many people still believe that the election process was not free and fair due to many anomalies that were experienced during the elections. This paper is aimed at discussing some of the flaws experienced in Supreme Court judgment, media coverage and voting system and look for feasible solution to this.

Flaws in election system

As it has been in the past general elections in United States, the 2000 general elections system of voting was faced with numerous flaws. These ranged from problems with the electronic voting machines as well as disenfranchising of the minority groups. Flaws were seen in the system of ballot counting. For some time, Experts had complained of the reliability of prescored punch card ballots but little effort was made to avoid them during the elections (Sunstein & Epstein 128).

Election officials knew well that those punch-card systems responsible of making chads often experience problems. The system could at times not fully remove the chads. This led to the counting machine fixing back the chads and counting the vote as an undervote. Despite this, more than five hundred counties in United States used the system to vote in 2000. There were no measures in place to check on votes that had their chads not fully removed.

These votes went through the counting machines, chads fixed back to their holes making them classified as undervotes. Providers of vote counting machines had also agreed that their machines make errors during counting. This escalated the problem in the voting system. A lot of votes were declared undervotes while they were supposed to be good (Correspondents of New York Times para. 2).

The electronic method of voting denied people an opportunity to check whether their votes really went to persons they intended to vote for. It was also hard for them to know whether they had voted successfully. This was because voters information was stored electronically. The voting machines; which were expected to be neutral in the exercise contributed to flaws experienced in the exercise. The machines counted minority votes fewer times than they did to non-minority votes. The butterfly ballots used in States such as Florida were confusing to even the literate people. No time had been taken to educate people on their use prior to the polling day.

People found themselves using ballots that were different from ones printed in regional newspaper. This disenfranchised the illiterate people who could not manage to use the ballots. The most affected people were the blacks and the poor. Their areas reported high percentage of undervotes (Correspondents of New York Times para. 4).

American presidential elections are conducted through Electoral College system. The system was used during the controversial presidential election in 2000. The system saw will of the people denied. Despite Gore getting the majority votes, he was not declared the United States president. The system had so many flaws that saw Bush become the president. In the system each voter does not have an equal vote.

The number of votes per person in every state depends on per-capita representation of the person in the Electoral College. This is disadvantageous to presidential candidates who hail from States with large population. A candidate can get popular vote but fail to become the president. This was reflected in 2000 presidential elections where Gore got the majority votes but failed to emerge the winner. According to the system, a voter from state with majority voters is disadvantaged as when it comes to Electoral College, he is accorded equal number of votes as one coming from state with minor votes (Kellner 56).

Despite one being popular in states with majority votes, he or she might fail to win the presidential post if the states happen to be fewer than states with minor votes. As a result, the system has been found to disenfranchise voters making most of them fail to participate in voting exercise as they know that their vote will make no impact in determining the president.

Flaw in media coverage

In every country, media takes a great role in informing the public of the progress in the general elections. It is the role of the media to critically follow the exercise and be impartial in unraveling any flaws found in the process. The media is supposed to furnish the public with accurate information pertaining public importance and present views from both sides competing for presidency so that the public can make informed decision. This was not reflected during the 2000 presidential elections.

Most of the media organizations did not take time to provide the public with enough information regarding policies, principles and tactics of the candidates vying for presidency. Most media concentrated on analyzing the polling results and number of supporters for candidates and failed to analyze candidates past history, importance of the elections to the nation and implications of electing specific candidate. This led to the public going to elections with limited information on the candidates they were to elect (Kellner 67)

When Gore was declared the Democrat candidate, the media shifted from concentrating on Bushs youthful injudicious and focused on Gores oppressive personality. Bush being a youth made most of his judgment without considering their implications to the country. Most of his policies were hard to actualize but the media paid no attention on that. Despite Al Gore having good agendas about the country, the media tarnished his name in the public making him appear to be a bad person.

Most people changed their opinion about candidates they were to elect. There were cases where media failed to focus on responses made by Gore in debates. Some news anchors went to an extent of using demeaning names when referring to the presidential candidates. Due to the media focusing more on personality of the candidates, it did not take time to analyze serious issues that affected the country which included environmental pollution, education, social security and government size. Gore; that had productive agendas towards the nation lacked a channel where he could be able to communicate them to the public with the media concentrating on bringing out some of his negative attributes. Bush had promised in his campaign to ensure that there was a reduction in missile production if he happens to become the president (Knight Para. 4).

This was not covered in his proposed budget and the media overlooked the issue. In his debates, media refrained from asking him relevant questions like the methods he could use to control guns in the country as the country had been rocked by a series of school shootings. This biased way of portraying the presidential candidates greatly affected peoples way of voting leading to many choosing candidates they did not intend to.

The media was blamed for airing contradicting news about the presidential elections. Media could use crude methods to determine the winner in a specific state and announce it to the public. As voters frequented the polling stations, different media stations could conduct a brief interview on them after they had voted. When most voters turned out to prefer one candidate, they would declare that candidate the winner in that state. This led to disputes emerging on Floridas results.

People started to suspect that rigging had been done to make Bush winner of the state. Long before the counting exercise had started, the media had declared that Gore had carried the twenty five electoral votes of Florida (Knight Para. 6). However, when counting began; they realized that Bush was leading with a great margin. Without even waiting for the exercise to end, the media revoked their initial announcement and announced that Bush had won the votes and was the duly elected president of the United States. The media proved to conduct their coverage with minimal considerations.

Pros of media coverage

If properly utilized media can play a vital role during election process. As media people have the right to monitor the voting and counting process, they can be useful in unraveling most of the flaws that might be taking place during the exercise. Coverage of the presidential campaigns and organizing for public debates with the candidate through the media can be very vital in assisting votes make informed decision before voting. They can be able to identify candidate with the best development agendas. Media coverage of election process ensures that there is democracy in voting process where the marginalized people are not discriminated against.

Role of the supreme courts and their partisan politics

The controversial presidential results of Florida led to the Supreme Court intervening to make the judgment. This made many people blame the Supreme Court for not conducting its mandates within the constitutional guidelines. According to Florida law, when there arise a conflict in determining the winner in a closely contested election, the Supreme Court can come in and making the final ruling. The court is supposed to do its ruling based on peoples will. When the court ordered a hand recount of votes from some counties in Florida, it was found that Bush was leading Gore with a hundred and fifty four votes (Vitug, Marites Danguilan para. 4).

The court realized that a lot of legal votes were contained in undervotes. It decided to do all that is required by law to ensure that all legal votes were counted. The court had also been ordered by United States Supreme Court to ensure that it follows all provisions within the law to ensure that counting exercise was transparent. Despite it asserting to conduct all its duties according to the law, the Florida Supreme court was seen to make its rulings against Gores faction. The court declined to allow a recount of Miami-Dade votes as Gore had requested. It also blocked a revote petition brought up by residents of Palm Beach. They had argued that the butterfly voting system used in the county was against the State law. This system was seen to cost Gore a lot of votes in the county (Lefebvre para. 5).

The Florida Supreme Court issued a short period for recounting of all the undervotes. The process continued with both candidates recording some additional votes. However, the exercise was stopped by five justices from the United States Supreme Court. This was after Bush and his legal team requested for termination of the exercise. This clearly showed disrespect to the Court. The role of the court is to make rulings on matters to do with elections without being inclined to any candidate. Despite the recounting process proving that there were numerous legal votes in the undervotes, the US Supreme Court failed to honor the exercise.

Their decision was found to be biased in favor of Bush (Miconi para. 2). To justify their ruling, the justices claimed that the exercise would lead to an irreparable damage to Bush by revoking his legal election as the president. They claimed that the move taken by Florida Supreme Court violated protections rights as stipulated in United States constitution. The constitution requires that people in parallel conditions be treated equally by the law.

The actions taken by the Supreme Court were fraudulent, unjustifiable and illegal. Bushs argument lacked concrete evidence to stop recounting exercise. For one to contest the exercise, he or she is required to have an evidence of injury implicated on him or her by the courts decision or show clearly that the decision will have severe effects. Bushs allegations were mere assumptions and lacked evidence. The major issue that needed to be focused on to determine the case was whether recounting exercise would have detrimental effects on Floridas electorates. Bush being a Texas electorate would have not been affected by the process. In addition, there were evidence showing that Bush as the presidential candidate would have suffered no loss in the recounting process (Neas para. 7).

Solution to elections problems

To make sure that similar problems do not reoccur in other election exercises, there is great need for reforms to be effected in the elections system. Electoral College for many years has been blamed for not yielding to the will of the people. It has seen candidate with popular votes fail to become the countrys president. There is need for the system to ensure that every States receive proportionate electors.

This would eliminate cases where a candidate receives majority of votes. This is because the system would accommodate for more than two presidential candidates. The first two candidates with majority votes can then go for a second election to determine the winner. In states with odd number of electors, the extra elector would be assigned to presidential candidate who had scooped popular vote. With these changes effected in the Electoral College system, it would be possible for the system to reflect the will of the people.

This would help in increasing voter turnout in areas where voters feel that their votes make no difference in determining the president that is elected. Minority candidates would also be in a position to garner some Electoral College votes in spite of them being at a lower rate than the popular vote (Posner 32). The reforms would ensure that election process focuses more on Principles, values and agendas presented by presidential candidates rather than personality as it is seen in the current process.

Works Cited

Correspondents of New York Times. 36 Days: The Complete Chronicle of the 2000 Presidential Election Crisis. New York: Hentry Holt & Co., 2001.

Dershowitz, Alan. Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Kellner, Douglas. Grand Theft 2000: media Spectacle & Stolen Election. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., 2001.

Knight, Dan. Reforming the Electoral College: Part 2 in a series on election reform. 2000. Web.

Lefebvre, Alex. US voting machines: Will 2004 elections be electronically rigged?. Web.

Miconi, Thomas. The United States election system is designed to exclude ideas. 2000. Web.

Neas, Ralph. Fundamental Flaws Put Our Voting System at Risk. 2004. Web.

Posner, Richard. Breaking The Deadlock: The 2000 Election, The Constitution, And The Courts. New York: Princeton, 2001.

Sunstein, Cass & Epstein, Richard. The Vote: Bush, Gore & The Supreme Court. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.

Vitug, Marites Danguilan. SC justice in partisan politics? 2009. Web.

Introduction

The widespread usage of technology in todays world accelerates the digitalization of various activities. Innovative technologies play a crucial role in peoples lives since they improve performance and offer the necessary level of comfort. When personal information is collected, transparency encourages trust; one should be able to determine the companys dedication to privacy protection, what it plans to do with the information, and under what conditions it may release it. However, there is another aspect to the issue as well. Extreme degrees of digitalization in society rob people of their privacy and personal space. It occurs more frequently due to the widespread use of social networks, which host gigabytes of data that users share with their friends and close family. The report will include the Cambridge Analytica scandal from an evaluative perspective; cases with Facebook and Trump; an analysis of the necessary actions before and after the incident, and recommendations derived after analyzing what happened.

From a public relations perspective, the costs of not being able to use data for advertising and behavioral analysis may outweigh the benefits of changing the amount and type of data companies collect. Touting the companys strong privacy management team and promoting its partnership with a privacy-focused nonprofit will also be an excellent way to build trust. Notifications sent directly to the users home page must include public information.

On the other hand, consumers can choose to keep these files private from others outside their social circle. As a result, cybersecurity, data theft, ethics, and privacy are given the highest emphasis because the data that social networks hold could be utilized by criminals or other businesses for various objectives. To gain a more profound knowledge of the issue, the presented article evaluates the Cambridge Analytica incident, examines its peculiarities, and applies fundamental principles of data security, information sharing, dangers, and ethics.

Trump and Cambridge Analytica

The new Internet has made it possible to observe the individual behavior of users depending on the tool. During Trumps campaign, he employed British consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which helped him triumph in the 2016 United States presidential election (She & Michelon, 2019, p. 60). However, the firm continued illegally acquiring the personal information of Facebook users, causing a massive scandal. Using a series of questions in Facebooks software and platform to gather personal details of Facebook users, the psychological profiles of 87 million users were created (Ernala et al., 2020, p. 10). On top of using the collected data, Cambridge Analytica then provided analytical support to the Trump campaign; in my opinion, such actions are not prohibited. Cambridge Analytical Scandal has been accused of intruding on the Brexit referendum, but that claim was overturned after a pompous investigation.

Cambridge Analytica asked Facebook clients to take a paid survey for academic purposes. Guardian reporter Harry Davis was the first to report on the alleged breach by Cambridge Analytica (Berghel, 2018). He said Senator Ted Cruzs data came from millions of Facebook users and was taken without permission. Kogan was permitted to collect user data for professional purposes but had no power to sell this data to third parties. Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix continued his unethical behavior by releasing private emails to support Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.

The company collapsed due to the scandal investigation, and Nix was outlawed from managerial for seven years. Regulators also fined Facebook for failing to protect its users data from political harvesting. Cambridge Analytica used politicians, public opinion traps, and social media to discredit opponents in more than 200 international elections (Tuttle, 2018, p. 8). In the process, Facebook announced that Cambridge Analytica had been removed from the platform. Facebook added that it had ordered the destruction of the data but later discovered that Cambridge Analytica had not wholly deleted it. Despite these scandals and inappropriate conduct, Cambridge Analytica still has a great chance to succeed because of its intellectual resources.

What Could Have Been Done Better Before the Scandal

Cambridge Analytica uses micro-targeting, aggregated databases, and behavioral targeting to fulfill its target commitments. Although these methods are not illegal, they are done in an unethical way, with little regard for the choices made by the audience. There are no general guidelines for data mining, but Cambridge Analytica needed to ensure Kogan had the privilege to vend users data. However, his records exhibit that he was not allowed because Facebook, at most, will enable him to utilize the figures for analysis.

By acquiring legally authorized data, Nix should have followed the code of conduct, allowed users to partake or back off, and made their data-extracting practices transparent before the scandal. Nix could have handled the situation more responsibly due to business practices that increased the brands value to customers or the public. However, Nixs actions following the public disclosure should have demonstrated its cooperation and awareness in spreading the word about the privacy breach (González et al.,2019, p. 800). Following the code of conduct averted organizations from getting unnecessary criticism for misleading users. Therefore, Cambridge Analytica should have ensured that they seek express permission from users to access data in addition to their legal rights (Rider & Murakami, 2019, p. 640). Gaining approval lowers the threat of opposition by meeting customer expectations and obtaining legal consent to use data.

What Could Have Been Better after the Scandal

After the Scandal, Nix must deploy the public and legal relations departments to respond honestly and in time to the citizens through all media. Alexander Nix needs to assure the stakeholders that the organization takes the matter seriously to deal with the issues that caused the scandal. Manner and providing information on progress need to be updated regularly. In the future, the organization must develop privacy measures to restore confidence in the relevant partners (TED, 2019). Alexander needs to focus all his attention on restoring the trust of the relevant stakeholders (Laterza, 2018). While there is no guarantee that this will fix the companys tarnished dependability, it could be a move in the correct direction and show some of the methods Alexander Nix needed to mitigate the fallout from the scandal. Facebook must develop a strategy that convinces customers that the company will protect user privacy. Facebook had to change its internal privacy policies and product development. Facebook should also consider limiting data collection, shortening the time data is stored, and limiting data transfers to third parties.

Work and Service Cambridge Analytica Provided

Cambridge Analytica developed a study of individual questions, which were then given out to respondents and scored on characteristics such as agreeableness and openness (Berghel, 2018, p. 86). After combining these results with data from polls, online activity, and voter records, a model of voter personality was created by Nix. Trumps 2016 campaign utilized the gathered data to develop a psychographic profile that identifies the characteristics of Facebook users depending on their venture (Confessore, 2018). Using this information as one of the micro-targeting master plans, the campaign group personalized a platform of Trump-related information for various voters through various digital media. The advertisement and discovery of services are divided into categories based on whether Trump is a supporter.

Nix sent his supporters pictures of a victorious Trump and information about polling places. At the same time, Hillary Clintons voters received negative photographs or information about the popularity of Trump or Hillary Clinton supporters. Trump, for example, has been promoted as the most attractive candidate, while fake ads have targeted Clinton to expose her to corrupt practices. In addition, Trumps campaign office welcomed some Cambridge Analytica workers, led by chief product manager Matt, who worked at a super PAC organized by Trump. The group was later increased to 13 persons, with Brad Donalds digital director as their immediate supervisor (Wu et al., 2019, p. 334). The team analyzed American voters data for the presidential election.

Cambridge Analyticas Strategy and Impact of the Scandal

The company denies using Facebook data, although Cambridge Analytica claims to utilize psychographic marketing. The New York Times (2018) claims to have seen evidence suggesting that the company still has part of the Facebook data, although Cambridge Analytica also claims to have erased the information. Cambridge Analytica disputes that it has any information derived from or collected through the company. However, the business wouldnt need to require information on Facebook likes to create personality models of people. Advertisers can examine additional facets of a persons digital footprint, such as Twitter feeds, browsing histories, and phone call patterns, for correlations with personality. This information can predict nature, albeit with variable degrees of accuracy.

As a result of disclosures that data strategy analytics Cambridge Analytica improperly acquired data on tens of millions of Facebook users, users trust in the company has decreased by half. According to a survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute (2018), an independent research organization specializing in privacy and data protection, only 28 % of Facebook users believe the company is dedicated to privacy, down from a high of 79 % before that. Most social media users know their information is being gathered, shared, or sold. That is Facebooks way of operation.

My Perspective on Cambridge Analytica

The consequences of unauthorized use of user figures and breaching of privacy regulations can damage a businesss reputation and cause it to run into financial trouble. Despite the controversy surrounding the companys intelligence-gathering approach, it seems that Cambridge Analyticas inceptive promise to sway voter conduct by recognizing their personality was legitimate and ethical (Afriat et al., 2020, p. 120). The decision to collect information about Facebook users without their prior consent was wrong. However, Nix aims to develop a unique collateral proposition for Cambridge Analytica among politicians or their candidates by bringing something new (Bailey et al., 2018, p. 259). Nix wants to influence voters psychologically but needs access to citizens behavioral and psychological data.

Data companies provide psychological profiles; however, these data types are insufficient for Cambridge Analytica, as they are useless in determining psychological characteristics to design personalized and persuasive political messages. Instead, it uses customers purchase history to predict their political beliefs (Shiau et al., 2018, p. 60). Facebooks claim that the Cambridge Analytica scandal was not the result of a security breach may be correct. Despite the scandal that put the company out of business, no one has reportedly faced charges. Facebook may remain the subject of intense scrutiny at this time.

Public License Operation and Interrelation to Data-driven Technology

The term license to operate is often utilized as an indicator of set behavioral limits companies must meet to be recognized and accepted in their environment. How the operating and data-driven licensing technology companies are related is studied and defined as a license to engage in trade or business activities, regulated or supervised by a licensing authority. Many of the recent trading stores aim to convert to data-driven firms, which makes analytics and data an integral part of corporate systems, culture, processes, and master plans. Moreover, analysis is embraced at every level of the organization and is the basis of all truth (Heawood, 2018, p. 429).

This fundamental business asset makes business processes better and more efficient. A cheaper and faster business asset is possible, and it is rapidly changing the world (Cadwalladr, 2018). Data-driven companies focus on collecting data for every aspect of their business. When workers in all departments can use the correct data needed for a specific task in perfect timing, enterprises gain a competitive advantage because data drives the bottom line. More data-driven businesses create a more open environment for business and marketing. Still, the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other episodes of monopoly, market manipulation, and privacy violations dominated the news.

Challenges Facing Facebook

Since 2016 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has been working to show people how effective its process of removing applications, accounts, and other problematic content has become. In a recent blog, it is evidenced to have deleted 3.2 billion fraud accounts (Richterich, 2018, p. 540). It also announced its initial removal of millions of chunks of content portraying self-harm and child abuse, differentiating its efforts to moderate content on Instagram from those on Facebook (Weisbaum, 2018). Developmental content management is positive but also expensive. Facebooks security, safety, and content moderation efforts cost about $5 billion yearly, which may soon drop significantly (Larson & Vieregger, 2019, p. 100). Artificial intelligence cannot come out more quickly to reduce costs. The company needs more capital to change the terms of Facebook and to pay engineers who review content.

Facebook focuses on the companys longstanding complaints about privacy violations, political advertisements, content moderation, and civil rights data. In two different lawsuits, one with CEO Zuckerberg and the second with Facebook CEO Marcus, legislators revealed their disaffection with the firms impact on society (Lotrea, 2018, p. 20). Its form is unknown when or if Libra will be launched in 2020 as planned. If developed, it will probably be a declining variety of Facebooks inceptive concept of a world of digital money, which has an extensive web of holders whom they withdrew after members of parliament told them they could be held responsible for Libras problems. In addition to Libra, however, regulators in the US and elsewhere are also watching Facebook closely. Nearly all of the states attorneys are likely to focus on Facebooks data practices, acquisitions, and product development, making it one of several technology giants facing the most pressure in Europe, such as potentially tough new penalties and speech controls (Setiawan et al., 2021, p. 20). In coming years, it needs to reassure capitalists that regulatory pressure will not hurt its durable prospects.

Fake news and hate speech are common challenges facing Facebook. After the 2016 US presidential election, most people worried about the outcome of fraudulent news spread, primarily through digital media. According to Lischka (2019, p. 200), after using data from web browsing, figures from fact-checking channels, and the outcomes of a recent online survey study, 14% of people within American cities say social media is a crucial fount of election reports. On Facebook, the company shared fake news stories 30 million times in 90 days before the general election, and pro-Trump news got 8 million shares (Mena, 2020, p. 170). In the months leading up to the presidential election, the mean American adult eyed one or several lies, and most of those who remembered seeing the stories believed them. Especially if they have different ideological social networks, people are more likely to believe stories that support the preferred candidate.

With Facebooks presence in countries, the question is how to create guidelines that protect users from abuse and promote freedom of expression in all religions and norms. In the first three months of 2019, Facebooks monthly active users were 2.4 billion (Feng et al., 2019, p. 44). Facebook is facing unprecedented challenges in handling the daily posts, videos, and photos it receives. These posts broaden the conversation about artificial intelligence.

Future Implications

In my opinion, even if there are significant changes in the future, Facebook will be careful about any changes it makes to continue to provide value to advertisers. At the same time, Facebook advertisers should also be wary of any development in Facebooks promotion settings (McCarthy, 2018, p. 1). In my perspective, operations will be more successful if one can quickly understand and adapt to these changes. Rather than focusing on the companys shortcomings, understanding these issues provides a better context. Most of Facebooks solutions address broader technical problems. Using new technologies like artificial intelligence is always tricky, and one cannot just ask for help on stack overflow. It all depends on users trust in Facebooks corporate integrity, not Facebooks responsibility for user privacy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, transparency promotes trust when personal data is requested, and one should see the companys commitment to protecting privacy, what it intends to do with the data, and under what circumstances it may share it. It is undemanding to ponder data seclusion as complying with laws and directives. However, the Cambridge Analytica breach should educate us that individuals view their private data differently, as this should be both ethical and legal. Many users do not know how data outsourcing can expand their digital track or what businesses can undertake with that data. Their view is that every company will honor their privacy. However, some businesses may not discern ethical issues, granted that their actions are legal. Cambridge Analytica reveals a potential loop between consumer expectations and business expectations. Remember, as a user, before giving a company your information, read its terms and conditions to see what kind of guardian it wants to be. Remember that while values may play a significant role in these terms and conditions and even vision and mission statements, they may not accurately reflect what is happening with the data.

An organization that draws inspiration from the extraordinary success of the Internet economy and provides a flexible regulatory and enforcement mechanism is needed. Facebook focuses on the companys longstanding complaints about privacy violations, political advertisements, content moderation, and civil rights data. Internet companies must drive innovation, but not to the extent that people fear being drawn into political or commercial experiments. Social media platforms and the internet economy are run in the public interest as they become increasingly important to billions of people. It is the governments responsibility to define the rights of citizens in media. Congress must protect individuals and their ability to interact online freely.

Reference List

Afriat, H., Dvir-Gvirsman, S., Tsuriel, K. & Ivan, L. (2020) This is capitalism. It is not illegal: Users attitudes toward institutional privacy following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The Information Society, 37(2), pp. 115-127.

Bailey, M., Cao, R., Kuchler, T., Stroebel, J. & Wong, A. (2018) Social connectedness: Measurement, determinants, and effects. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(3), pp. 259-80.

Berghel, H. (2018) Malice Domestic: The Cambridge Analytica dystopia. Computer, 51(5), pp. 84-89.

Confessore, N. (2018) Cambridge Analytica and Facebook: The Scandal and the Fallout so Far. The New York Times, Web.

Ernala, S.K., Burke, M., Leavitt, A. & Ellison, N.B. (2020) How well do people report time spent on Facebook? An evaluation of established survey questions with recommendations. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1-14.

Feng, S., Wong, Y.K., Wong, L.Y. & Hossain, L. (2019) The Internet and Facebook usage an academic distraction for college students. Computers & Education, 134, pp. 41-49.

González, F., Yu, Y., Figueroa, A., López, C. & Aragon, C. (2019) Global reactions to the Cambridge Analytica scandal: A cross-language social media study. In Companion Proceedings of the 2019 world comprehensive web conference, pp. 799-806.

Heawood, J. (2018) Pseudo-public political speech: Democratic implications of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Information polity, 23(4), pp. 429-434.

Laterza, V. (2018) Cambridge Analytica, independent research and the national interest. Anthropology Today, 34(3), pp. 1-2.

Larson, E. & Vieregger, C. (2019) Strategic actions in a platform context: what should Facebook do next? Journal of Information Systems Education, 30(2), pp. 97-105.

Lischka, J.A. (2019) Strategic communication as discursive, institutional work: A critical discourse analysis of mark Zuckerbergs Legitimacy talk at the European parliament. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(3), pp. 197-213.

Lotrea, C. (2018) Mr. Zuckerberg and the Internet. An essay on power relations and privacy negotiation. Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology, 9(1), pp. 19-24.

Mccarthy, S. (2018) Zuckerberg tells staff to use Android after Apple feud. UWIRE Text, pp. 1-1.

Mena, P. (2020). Cleaning up social media: The effect of warning labels on the likelihood of sharing false news on Facebook. Policy & Internet, 12(2), pp. 165-183.

Richterich, A. (2018). How data-driven research fuelled the Cambridge Analytica controversy. Partecipazione e conflitto, 11(2), pp. 528-543.

Rider, K. & Murakami Wood, D. (2019) Condemned to connection? Network communitarianism in Mark Zuckerbergs Facebook manifesto. New Media & Society, 21(3), pp. 639-654.

Setiawan, R., Ponnam, V. S., Sengan, S., Anam, M., Subbiah, C., Phasinam, K., Vairaven, M. & Ponnusamy, S. (2021) Certain Investigation of Fake News Detection from Facebook and Twitter Using Artificial Intelligence Approach. Wireless Personal Communications, pp. 1-26.

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Weisbaum, Herb. (2018) Trust in Facebook Has Dropped by 66 Percent since the Cambridge Analytica Scandal. NBC News, Web.

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Introduction

Three different online news sources were selected for this assignment. The ABC News (2016) is a source that is generally considered to be one of the most authoritative and trustworthy news outlets. It focuses on the breaking news from all over the world and allows the readers to read articles, interviews and watch related videos. The Guardian (2016) is a newspaper with its own website, which provides the representatives of the general public with the opportunity to gather information about world news and US news related to various topics, including sport, politics, life, and style, etc. Finally, the PolitiFact (2016) is a website, which is focused on political news. Professionals who work for affiliated media outlets check the information and state whether it is true or not. The media content analysis dealt with the upcoming election, as this issue is currently widely discussed.

Methods

In order to conduct analysis, the news related to the selected topic was monitored on the selected media outlets for one week. The websites were visited every day, and the notes were taken in regard to the information provided. Then the news sources and the way they treated the issue were compared, which allowed to maintain risk assessment and provide possible solutions.

Discussion

Selected sources of news suit the social role. They provide the information, which is significant for the general public in the way its representatives can perceive it without complications. Thus, the articles do not include specific terms that are likely to prevent understanding. The data is explained in details so that no additional research is required. It is all current so that the public can consider the most recent news and does not waste time on reading outdated information. The readers also have an opportunity to leave a comment to the news they read and interact with other users to discuss the topic and the article. In this way, they can also communicate with the authors.

The authors of the articles present their messages so that they do not only provide the information related to the issue but also entertain the public, which is critical for media (The Saylor Foundation, 2013). The Internet is full of similar information that is why its creators need to mate their articles unique and interesting. Very often these news sources include quotations in the titles of the stories that are taken out from the context. Thus, the titles often differ from the very content. The names are often used as they are known to everyone and are likely to attract the public.

Risk Assessment

One should always remember that receiving information from the Internet is risky. Individuals who create messages and put them on various websites are not always professionals in the sphere. They may be just general citizens who interpret the situation from their own point of view even if it is biased. Moreover, even though the article may be prepared by a professional, it is usually not verified in the same way as printed sources of information are. Rather often provided information is exaggerated so that it appeals the public more but then it can hardly be trusted. Some data can be obtained from other sources without citing them, which breaks the law (Shullich, 2011). It is critical for people and organizations to look for more authoritative sources if they require such information.

As it was noticed during the media content analysis, one and the same issue related to the topic (election, in this case) can be found on different websites. In this way, the public can look through different perspectives and pay attention to the information that is the same, as it is most likely to be true. They can consider the opinion of the professionals, which can be found on the PolitiFact (2016). One may also pay attention to the presence of citations and videos. It can be also beneficial to consider who is the author of the article.

Results

All in all, media content analysis showed that various sources of information tend to discuss US elections in the same way. They reveal particular events and often agree on their peculiarities. However, the information is never presented in the same way, as each author wants to sound unique as if one has something more to tell. Unfortunately, the authoritativeness of the messages does not have a substantial background. Sometimes one and the same piece of news is revealed on the same source but with a different emphasis. Still, the authors try not to refer to the news that is not the latest one.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be claimed that different online news sources that present political-related issues tend to make their messages understandable and interesting for the general public. They often tend to be more entertaining than informational because of exaggeration and willingness to surprise and attract more readers. People should know that the data they perceive may be not accurate. It is decent for getting to know the issue, but further investigation is required to ensure that the source is trustworthy.

References

ABC News. (2016).

PolitiFact. (2016).

Shullich, R. (2011). Risk assessment of social media.

The Guardian. (2016).

The Saylor Foundation. (2013). Understanding media and culture: An introduction to mass communication.

The United States presidential election process is flawed because its main components have lost their fairness, importance and simplicity. The electoral college over represents the smaller states, with the winner of the popular vote able to lose the presidency in the electoral college. The cost of the election has become too high in recent years making it almost impossible for anyone other than the 2 major parties to have a chance at winning. The National Nominating Convention has also become a foregone conclusion, with its place only to be an entertaining show. However, in regards to finance, the ability to spend money during elections is deemed a constitutional right in the US, with an unlikely chance of amendment, high election costs are essentially set in stone. Therefore, the US election can be deemed a forgone conclusion with only the 2 major parties trading seats because the elections components keep them in power.

In the electoral college, not all votes are equal in value and the system requires reform. The electoral college over represents small population states, in 2008, on average a state was awarded one electoral vote for every 565,166 people. However, Wyoming had three electoral votes and only 532,668 citizens, in this situation each Wyoming citizen vote is the same as 3 votes for citizens in other states. There is also the chance for faithless electors, where someone who was voted in to support the Democrats might instead vote for a Republican candidate. ECV’s are also unrepresentative because it is possible that the winner of the popular vote could lose in the electoral college vote, meaning the candidate with the most support won’t become president, this was the case in the 2016 election in which Trump beat Hillary even with less votes. However, this system does preserve the voice of the small-population states. Wyoming has 183,305 people per ECV while California has 718,364 people per ECV (2020). This means that those with big entertainment centres and important cities that attract more people won’t overpower the voices of the smaller states during elections. Therefore, the electoral college is an outdated system that needs reform because of its ability to over represent in some parts and under represent in others, overall, it’s an unrepresentative system.

Election finance limits access into the election, keeping the 2 major parties in control. Firstly, the cost of elections is too high and stops new parties competing. The Democratic Party raised $938 million in 2020 with over 13 million people having used American non-profit ‘ActBlue’ during the election, with an average contribution of $35 each ($455,000,000 total). A smaller, more local or community driven party will never be able to raise those sorts of funds and will never have a chance against the major parties, keeping them in control. Small parties could take state subsidies, but these don’t help smaller parties compete with major parties due to the $103 million spending cap that comes with it, as to stop too much taxpayer money being spent on parties, but this 103 million is nowhere close to the competitors. However, money is deemed as free speech and so the government limiting it too hard or going against donations would be unconstitutional, this was decided in Citizens United v. FEC (2010), and Buckley v. Valeo (1976) and so an amendment would be needed to make any significant change to election finance. Therefore, elections keep third parties from competing against the major parties because it costs too much and the money only goes to the major parties.

The National Nominating Convention is nothing more than a formality and show of party unity. The convention is a forgone conclusion because it makes few decisions that haven’t been made earlier in the election, like Joe Biden winning the Democratic nomination June 6th but ‘officially’ being nominated August 18th during the 2020 election. This diminishes their importance because the point of the convention is to ‘nominate’ hence the name, but the decisions are merely confirmed at the convention and they’re decided prior. The running mates for the candidates are announced prior to the event now as well. Additionally, those held when the party’s nominating the current president for reelection can be devoid of any significance because all their convention comes down to is an acceptance speech in which people aren’t too interested in watching, this can be seen in the Republican 2020 event which had a 26% smaller viewership than their convention in 2016 due to them renominating Trump. However, many voters don’t tune into the election until the convention and make their choice based on it, this is because the presidential candidate must attend and accept their nomination, the Republican NNC pulled 23.8 million views and Democratic NNC pulled 24.6 million. If there is an odd brokered convention like in 2008, then it is essential to be done. Therefore, the national nominating convention has lost its place in the election because it only serves as a formality of confirmation of prior decisions.

Primaries and caucuses are unrepresentative of the typical voters in the US. They can influence the rest of the election but the earliest primaries and caucuses of Iowa and New Hampshire, are among the least representative, they rank fifth and second, respectively, on the smallest racial minority electorate at 8% and 6%, being made primarily of older white working-class farmers yet set the standard to come during the election because they’re the first to be done and publish their results. Additionally, other media are more important than caucuses, like televised debates because they have a higher, more casual audience, the Iowa caucus 2020 turnout was 26.5% while the 2020 televised debate pulled 76 million viewers, showing the higher interest in the debates. However, they are much more important than they used to be due to the McGovern-Fraser reforms (1968) but Biden did not win either in 2020 but won the final election, so the hardcore individuals who vote in the primaries and caucuses do not guarantee that the person who wins will become president. Therefore, primaries and caucuses are unrepresentative because only those who are the most engaged political activists will take part yet they have the chance to influence the rest of the election due to how early they are done.

In conclusion, the US election can be deemed a forgone conclusion with only the 2 major parties trading seats because the elections components keep them in power. The electoral college is an outdated system that needs reform because it is an unrepresentative system that doesn’t result in a fair winner, this can lead to division with the American people for years after the election. Also, elections keep third parties from competing against the major parties because it costs too much for them to compete on a level playing field and when given help by the government still don’t even have a chance to win due to the sheer power of the funds put in by the major parties. The national nominating convention has lost its place in the election because it only serves as a formality nowadays as the decisions that used to be made during them are now done prior and merely confirmed at the convention. Primaries and caucuses are unrepresentative because only those who are the most engaged political activists will take part yet they have the chance to influence the rest of the election due to how early they are done. However, with election finance, money is deemed as free speech for election donations by organizations or individuals and so the government limiting it could be deemed unconstitutional and only an amendment could make any significant change to this imbalance. Therefore, the majority of the features of a presidential election have lost their importance, creating a need for reform to fix them otherwise the election will continue to be flawed and create polarized outcomes for the people.

I am African American, and it is essential for us to vote. Our race has taken a lot for us to be able to vote. Martin Luther King marched and fought for our rights to vote. It is a great responsibility for us to vote. Voting to me gives you a voice in today’s society. Voting gives me the privilege to express my rights in voting and to pick the person that I want to be in charge of. People always say “My vote may not count so that’s why I don’t vote” Instead of not making your vote count you should at least try. When you vote you’re voting for your next leader. When it comes time to vote, and new people get into office it shows that people are not voting because of the people who are getting into office. In politics in Mississippi, the one with the most money usually wins. Starting with our county, we have to go with the person that will do the best job. We have to look at our candidates to see who is the best fit. Listen to their campaigning speeches and choose whose best for you.

Voting is a process that keeps a nation’s political system working. It enables citizens to choose their government. There are many advantages of voting such as stronger connections that can lead to a higher quality of life and longevity. Voting is perhaps an essential part of our democracy. One day my vote could be the vote that can turn the tables in an election.

High Schools should teach students why it’s so vital for them to vote. Teachers should express the importance of voting. Many kids my age are not even registered to vote. The youth is the people that you should get to vote for because they are the next generation. The child is going to be voting for a while in their life and if you’re not getting them to vote what are you doing? Young voters notoriously neglect the importance of voting, but their voice is an important one on both sides of the aisle. Critical issues in every election increasingly relate to the concerns of students and professionals between the ages of 18 and 29, making it essential for members within that age group to educate themselves on political issues and take to the polls. While millennials represented nearly 50% of the entire voter population in the 2016 election, they were further divided along race, gender, and education lines when considering critical issues from both candidates.

Women’s suffrage began in the late 1800 Ratified on August 18, 1920 Women got the right to vote after men. The woman suffrage movement preceded the women to vote which created the 19 amendments that gave women the right to vote. So if people have worked so hard for me to vote, I will. As a woman voting gives you a right to not depend on a man. When you vote you can vote for other women so they can be in charge. Women can also run for higher positions. That’s why voting is important to me.

Incident Identification

The data breach incident in the Philippines in 2016 was one of the most critical in the country’s history. According to Paganini (2017), a few weeks before the national elections, the local hacker group released electors’ personal data on a special web platform. As a result of cybercriminals’ actions, the personal information of more than 55 million people became public (Paganini, 2017). The lack of adequate encryption mechanisms resulted in passport data, residents’ fingerprints, and other personal information being stolen and exposed to the public in the form of the archive with 355 tables (Paganini, 2017). Chi (2016) argues that the National Electoral Commission was powerless in the face of the unexpected hacker attack that threatened the entire election campaign. As a result, the country’s citizens faced the threat of theft of their personal data.

Critical Impact and Damage Analysis

The scale of the problem of cyberattacks in the modern world is vast, and the case of the Philippines in 2016 demonstrated the vulnerability of even such important databases as those containing information on electors. In her assessment of the issue, Tan (2020) notes that electoral boards are vulnerable to cybercriminals due to loose data retention regulations and heavy use of social media in the country. Security management, in this case, involves taking measures to keep digital data safe from intruders. Moreover, given the fact that not only the election campaign was under threat but also millions of citizens, the Philippines’ data security system can be described as underdeveloped.

From a personal perspective, the cyberattack in the Philippines became a significant problem for the population. Alladi, Chamola, and Zeadally (2020) argue that whether or not individual data is made public through a leak, such an outcome is a severe breach of personal information processing principles from both an ethical and legal perspective. In some cases, financial losses can become a negative result. For instance, Paganini (2017) mentions a case of a cyberattack in the SWIFT international payment system when hackers stole $81 million. Society has the right to rely on the safe storage and processing of citizens’ personal data; otherwise, any attempt to provide anonymity is pointless in the face of advanced cybercrime.

Suggested Solutions

To prevent a repeat of incidents like those in the Philippines in 2016, the authorities should pay more attention to the management of digital data security. One of the potentially viable practices is to fortify national databases with appropriate encryption keys, which, as Süzen (2020) states, is a prerequisite for securing information. The case of the Philippines shows that citizens’ data was not sufficiently protected, and this allowed cybercriminals to freely steal and make public a large amount of personal information. Appropriate advanced encryption algorithms can help successfully resist outside attacks by securely encoding digital content. In the short term, this solution can help structure national databases; in the long term, it may contribute to eliminating attack precedents.

Another solution that can be effective is the creation of a program to control local social media. According to Paradise et al. (2017), to prevent criminals’ activities on public communication platforms, restrictive measures should be introduced on the publication of suspicious materials. In addition, information about possible sources of threats needs to be collected to assess potential risks and implement timely countermeasures. In the short term, this step will make surfing social media safer. From a long-term perspective, such a solution may contribute to preventing cybercrime on public media platforms.

Reference List

Alladi, T., Chamola, V. and Zeadally, S. (2020) ‘Industrial control systems: cyberattack trends and countermeasures’, Computer Communications, 155, pp. 1-8.

Chi, L. (2016) ‘Philippines elections hack ‘leaks voter data’’, BBC.

Paganini, P. (2017) The biggest cyber-security incidents of 2016.

Paradise, A. et al. (2017) ‘Creation and management of social network honeypots for detecting targeted cyber attacks’, IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems, 4(3), pp. 65-79.

Süzen, A. A. (2020) ‘A risk-assessment of cyber attacks and defense strategies in Industry 4.0 ecosystem’, International Journal of Computer Network & Information Security, 12(1), pp. 1-12.

Tan, N. (2020) ‘Electoral management of digital campaigns and disinformation in East and Southeast Asia’, Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy, 19(2), pp. 214-239.

In 2008, the media influenced the electorate to reject Hilary Clinton as the presidential candidate. Analysts observe that the media brainwashed the electorate to believe that gender affects the performance of an individual in executing his or her duties as the head of state.

Anita assesses how the media influenced the electorate during voting in 2008. Anita evaluated the role of the media in party politics, particularly in the Democratic Party. She observed that the society does not give women sufficient support to vie for influential positions.

In 2008, the Democratic Party preferred Obama because it believed that Clinton could not beat McCain due to her gender. In the political realm, media commentators present women as people who cannot make decisions on their own.

They suggest that women are should be allocated inferior and degrading positions in parties such as secretary. In the 2008 debate, the media referred to Clinton as a homemaker whose main role was to take care of the husband and children.

In fact, some media commentators observed that Clinton’s husband would be in charge of government while Clinton would be relying on him for policies. The media subjected Clinton to stereotypes, which portrayed her as weak and emotional.

The analyses of media commentators suggest that women should be excluded from public activities in the US. Political journalists suggest that women should be relegated to the private domain of the home.

The society ascribes specific feminine qualities to women. Women learn through the process of socialization that they should not compete with men for political positions. In society, women live in a state of false consciousness.

In the American politics, subordination of women is a result of socio-economic factors, but not biological factors. Women have always played an active role in the American politics, but because of deliberate efforts to exclude them, they perform less prestigious roles.

The party media viewed Clinton as an individual who had no agenda for the party. The party ensured that Obama won the presidential flagship since officials believed that McCain could easily defeat Clinton. In society, people are not ready to support a woman for a senior post.

McCain might have lost the presidential debate because of Palin, who was a woman. In the US, the vice-president is the second in command implying that he has the powers that are close to those of the head of state.

The vice-president can take over power if the president dies. Therefore, people were not ready to trust a woman with such a position. In parliament, the vice-president is the leader of government business.

The vice-president should come up with measures that would ensure government bills are passed in time. However, Palin was a doubt since democrats argued that she was weak and could not defend the government policies in parliament.

In 2012, the geopolitical climate is different. Women candidates are not contesting for high positions in government. The 2012 presidential race is different because no woman is involved in the race to the white house. The appearance of women in public places invites evaluation from other members of society.

Some of the comments made by media commentators are insulting because they aim at degrading women. Public places are places of inequality in the life of women. The society never gives women sufficient time to campaign or express their views regarding the performance of governmental institutions and the economy.

In 2012, gender is not one of the variables that will determine the outcome of elections. It can be concluded that the American society is not ready for a female president. The society thinks it is easy to compromise a female president. However, this is a false perception created through the process of socialization.

Summary

This article reviews Metrilocality societies in Thailand. It explores gender roles as defined by community customs in the region. The article traces the disputes arising before and after an election and highlights the role of women in solving these disputes. It also looks at the varied causes of the dispute. The article examines extended households in matrilocal societies.

It also highlights the discrimination of women by men considered as family heads and shows that women despite being lower in the family hierarchy play a significant role of heading the households such as resolving disputes, engaging in economic activities to feed their families and helping their husbands to cope with new environments and family members. The article demonstrates how conflicts brought out the hidden role of women in the matrilineal societies (Bowie 2008:136-153).

Central Issue Addressed

The article assesses how matrilocality and matrillineality plays an important gender role in the politics, and brings out the paradox of women being important and simultaneously invisible in the politics.

Importance of Central Issue Addressed

The analysis assists in the understanding of Thai village electoral politics by factoring in the domain of women. It highlights the intertwining of the domain of women in the village cultures of matrilocal and matrilineal kinship.

Use of Scholarly Literature

The author uses scholarly articles to place his research in the context of the Thai woman domain. For example, the author refers to literature in bringing out the history of the Thai woman, noting that the ignorance of the fact that Thailand was the first country to give women rights to vote has been a source of androcentric bias in political studies. The author also refers to social drama literature while studying the interpretation of domestic and political issues in the Thai village context.

The author uses literature to illustrate the significance conflicts as one of the fundamental aspects constituting a society. In describing the nature of matrilocal residency and the household’s kin the matrilineal villages, the author cites literature covering the customs and traditions of the Thai people. Furthermore, the author points out the characteristics of the Thai households in relation to general theories of social organizations (Bowie 2008:136-153).

Analysis of Original Author’s Material

The author’s material is an ethnographic study; a compilation of the findings that the author examined and experienced while living among the Thai people and participation in their daily lives for a period of 30 years to the extent of assuming bias positions in her opinions in local politics. During the fieldwork, the author looks at the issue of village politics and personally experiences the roles of the women as well as their interventions in their various households.

In addition, the author notes how husbands despite being the heads of their families have no choice but to vote in accordance with their wives political affiliations, an issue that brings conflicts between the husband’s parent family and their wives family. While witnessing the conflicts, the author further gains insight into the context of women’s simultaneously disappearance and appearance in the running of matrilineal households(Bowie 2008:136-153).

Research Method

The author studies the history of the Thai people in relation to matrilocality and then examines the political environment of a Thai village. In order to bring out findings to the reader, the author offers a narration of four cases of conflict that highlight women visibility and invincibility in relation to their assigned roles in the matrilocal residences under study.

Strengths and weaknesses

The author majorly relies on her understanding of the Thai village households, and only consults academic literature strengthens her opinion. As a source of bias, this fact makes the research weak. However, the ethnographic nature of the study puts the author positions to presents her findings as credible. Secondly, use of actual cases in presenting the study findings bring out clearly the issues examined by the author, leaving little room for research gaps (Bowie 2008:136-153).

Reflection

The article has provided a deeper understanding of kinship, in defining women roles in the matrilineal societies of the Thai people. The article has highlights decent in matrilineal societies. The composition of matrilocal residences and households in Thai villages stands out from the article.

It has also highlighted the role of ceremonies and customs in fostering kinship relations while highlighting how husbands after leaving their parents, freely embrace the customs of their wives families (Miller 2010:204-214). The article has also highlighted how household’s patterns are changing as in the example of the Thai women gaining rights to vote and becoming more visible in the household (Miller 2010:220-221).

References cited

Bowie, Katherine 2008 Standing in the Shadows: of Matrilocality and the Role of Women in Village Elections in Northern Thailand. Theme issue, American Ethnologist (35)1: 136-153

Miller, Barbara, with Penny Van Esterik and John Van Esterik 2010 Cultural Anthropology. 4th edition. Canada: Pearson Education Canada