Trish Zornio Profile picture
Sep 28, 2020 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Trump’s 2016 Cambridge Analytica leak is exactly the insidious political microtargeting we’ve been up against for years, including @SenCoryGardner’s 2014 upset win. Here’s how Republicans & foreign ops have manipulated American politics for years — a thread. #cosen #copolitics
First, extreme political microtargeting (what I call “dark tech”) is when personal data is collected & aggregated to create detailed user profiles. Profiles are then categorized for targeted advertising to manipulate for political gain. More @NewslineCO👇

coloradonewsline.com/2020/07/01/how…
These tactics can be employed for short & long-term gain. For example, it can be used to win a specific election, or to seed long-term turmoil & instability via disinformation campaigns. We’ve seen this with Russian interference — make no mistake, this is 21st century warfare.
The US is long behind on preparing for 21st century (eg biological & technological) warfare. It‘s left us open to attacks both externally (foreign) & internally (political gain). It’s been underway for years, with contested 2014 elections serving as primers/test runs to 2016.
Which brings us to @SenCoryGardner — Colorado’s junior Republican Senator who upended a well-liked Democratic incumbent. Once elected, Gardner quickly maneuvered far right, now with full endorsements from & for Trump. His win has been questioned in the leaning-blue state...
In 2018, as more & more info has been collected, details suggest his campaign win was helped by Cambridge Analytica. @denverpost

denverpost.com/2018/03/26/cam…
A few days later, more details emerged on the Senator’s win by @CPRNews

cpr.org/2018/03/29/did…
But the trail went cold until 2019 when @FastCompany ran a deeper story on Cambridge Analytica confirming its ties to helping target voters to elect “hawkish Republican candidates like Tom Cotton & Cory Gardner” before helping Ted Cruz & Trump in 2016.

fastcompany.com/90235437/befor…
Voters should be aware “dark tech” persists in the 2020 election cycle. It’s also implicating the GOP in collusion of domestic attacks to disrupt American democracy by systematically weaponizing data for political gain. It’s crucial to vote out traitors undermining our democracy.

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More from @trish_zornio

Mar 29, 2023
Taxing the rich isn’t radical — what’s radical is asking average Americans to pay more in taxes than billionaires.
Gun safety laws aren’t radical — what’s radical is accepting gun deaths as the #1 killer of children in one of the world’s most highly developed nations.
Addressing climate change isn’t radical — what’s radical is leaving the next generations worse off than we are.
Read 9 tweets
Jul 27, 2020
In light of Elijah McClain, I’d like to share a story.

About 1.5 years ago my rental car was broken into & items stolen. My friend & I called the police. While he wrote the report, I gave my Colorado ID to the cop. He replied he used to live & work in Colorado, too. 1/5
Looking for sympathy, he went on to say his friend was the cop being targeted for the racial incident in Boulder, CO, where a black man was asked for ID at his own house. I noted I was familiar with the incident & replied blatantly it was absolutely racial profiling. 2/5
The cop proceeded to defend his friend, saying as a cop their job is to keep the community safe, & since “black ppl commit more crimes they are obligated to act accordingly”. He said if a black man was wearing a hoodie, for example, “he’d 100% follow him for safety concerns”. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
Jul 17, 2020
When I was a kid, I was taught I lived in the best country in the world. As a 1st generation American, this is where my family sought refuge after WWII. They were proud to come to America, the nation that had helped defeat fascism & gave them freedom. 1/7
You see, my family fought their own country in the Italian resistance. My blonde hair/blue-eyed grandfather helped fight Nazis & was captured as a traitor. Placed in camps, he & his brother escaped months later, weak & malnourished, & fled home in bare feet over mountains. 2/7
After they returned to find their small town in Northern Italy in ruins, & many family/friends dead including their mother, my Nonno decided to build a new life with my Nonna. A woodworker & seamstress by trade, they fled Italy to start anew. 3/7
Read 8 tweets
Mar 13, 2020
Our team has been fielding a lot of questions on coronavirus, so here’s a thread with FAQ so you can stay up to date:

(1/n)
Q: Where do I find reliable information about coronavirus?

A: Public information is available at @CDCgov and @WHO. You can also check your local gov’t for local updates. (e.g. In CO @GovofCO has instituted local plans at colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/…) (2/n)
Q: Why is COVID-19 worse if flu has killed more ppl?

A: Unlike flu, COVID-19 is a new virus that seems more contagious/deadly & has no vaccine. It wasn’t sufficiently contained early on, so COVID-19 is expected to infect up to 70% of pop this year which worsens death rate. (3/n)
Read 12 tweets
Feb 18, 2020
Thread on mental health:

Background: I teach behavioral neuroscience @CUDenver which is simply the biological structuring of the brain & how it works to produce/modify behaviors (eg brain disease, hormones, sleep/wake, drugs/addiction, learning, emotional regulation etc) 1/8
Appreciating the biology of behavior means acknowledging the brain, like all of the body, is biological & symptoms (behaviors) appear when hurt/sick. In the 🧠, symptoms expose neurological pathways that have been impacted/reshaped. Notably these pathways are honed over time. 2/8
As behaviors are biological, including emotional responses, this inherently confirms the biological underpinning of mental health with relevant symptomology, which is therefore better defined as brain disease, like heart disease or autoimmune disease. 3/8
Read 8 tweets
Feb 7, 2020
10 things you may not know about me beyond my race for US Senate, a thread...
10) I’m a US Senate candidate who...

...is a scientist! But I hope you already know that one! 😉 #WomenInSTEM @500womensci
9) I’m a US Senate candidate who...

...is an aunt to my now 10yo nephew! I fight to save the 🌎, cures for diseases, & to end fun violence for kids like him. It’s all about the next generations! ♥️
Read 12 tweets

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