210 Midterm Study

What is the central trade-off for the public identified in They Know Everything About You?

Privacy for Convenience

Which of the following best defines data mining?

Analyzing large stores of information to uncover patterns in data

 As discussed in They Know Everything About You, the Internet was initially developed by DARPA. What does “DARPA” stand for? 

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

According to They Know Everything About You, the U.S. government used _____________________ as a reason to invade individual citizen’s privacy on the internet, citing the need to prevent _______________________.

the events of September 11, 2001; terrorist attacks

 The author of 1984 is ______________________ and the author of Brave New World is ______________________.

George Orwell; Aldous Huxley

In Riley v. California, Chief Justice John Roberts made which argument in his opinion as noted in They Know Everything About You? 

The 4th Amendment extends beyond the physical world to the digital world.

CHOOSE ONE: What was the first sweeping defense of privacy in the United States, according They Know Everything About You?

Future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis’ 1890 article in Harvard Law Journal

 The 4th Amendment guards against which of the following?

Unreasonable searches and seizures by government only

In They Know Everything About You, in addition to lost ad revenue, what else contributed to undermining the ability of the press to cover national security after 9/11? 

Government surveillance of journalists

1.  In Chapter 6 of They Know Everything About You, the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) entered the offices of which newspaper and destroyed computer hard drives in an effort to tamp down publication of of US and British intelligence files revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013?

The Guardian

Documents released by Snowden to The Washington Post in the course of his whistleblowing revealed a massive “black budget,” which is defined as:

expenditures for intelligence and national security agencies such as the NSA and the CIA that are not reviewable by the public, or even most members of Congress

Which of the following were major revelations of Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing? 

1. The scale of U.S. government surveillance of citizens

2. The lack of clear separation between private company data and government surveillance

What was Edward Snowden’s job title prior to his whistleblowing? 

A mid-level computer security consultant with high-level security clearances for the NSA as a former CIA employee and subcontractor for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton

TRUE / FALSE: As discussed in Chapter 7 of They Know Everything About You, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was waterboarded almost 200 times, but was never interviewed by members of the 9/11 commission about his motivations and beliefs

True

TRUE / FALSE: The Obama administration charged more Americans under the Espionage

True

What federal agency did John Kiriakou work for?

CIA

Veteran agent John Kiriakou was treated like “a pariah” by his superiors in relation to his public criticism of what?

Waterboarding as torture

Over-classification of government documents

CHOOSE ONE: Which presidential administration charged John Kiriakou with a crime?

Obama administration

 How much of the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation of the CIA's Enhanced Interrogation Techniques was released to the public as noted in the film The Report?

The executive summary only, with extensive redactions

CHOOSE ONE: How long is the Torture Report upon which the film The Report is based?

7,000 pages

TRUE/FALSE: In the business model of the internet, your information and data is the commodity being sold. You’re not the customer, you’re the mark.

True

1. Prof. Scheer’s favorite quote is from President George Washington’s farewell address, in which he warned against:

“divisions and mischiefs faction”

CHOOSE ONE: The relationship between “fake news” and the internet is best described as:

Fake news is not new, but the internet has significantly accelerated its speed & reach

As models of mass information distribution, the Post Office and telephone system are cited as examples of _________________, in contrast to the _____________ model of social media networks.

neutral conveyors ; content curation

What business model has been decimated by the Internet?

print journalism

Which organization governs the Gaza Strip and has been involved in conflicts in the region?

Hamas

Which of the following figures leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, which included the U.S.’s top secret longstanding involvement and military miscalculations in Vietnam, in hopes that the American public would pressure their government to end the Vietnam War?

Daniel Ellsburg

How long did John Kirakiau wait until he decided to blow the whistle?

more than a year

What was the name of the intelligence-gathering program at NSA which was discontinued in the wake of 9/11 in favor of a program with far fewer privacy protections for American citizens? (Hint: William Binney was involved in blowing the whistle).

ThinThread

In the case of Edward Snowden's disclosure of classified NSA documents, what was one of the main revelations that sparked widespread public concern?

Mass surveillance programs infringing on privacy rights

TRUE/FALSE: Julian Assange is evading extradition from the U.S., living freely in London

False

Which whistleblower was prosecuted with charges related to revelations about the CIA torture program?

John Kiriakou

Which whistleblower is known for exposing classified information related to mass surveillance programs conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States?

Edward Snowden

Which aspect of government surveillance did Edward Snowden primarily expose through leaked documents in 2013?

Mass data collection on global communications

1. When the Pentagon Papers were leaked by a whistleblower, what was contained in the documents?

A top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War.

How does American capitalism impact major corporations' involvement in data gathering and surveillance?

American capitalism leads corporations to engage in extensive data gathering to maximize profits and market dominance.

TRUE/FALSE: Enhanced interrogation proved to be a successful way of gaining reliable information?

False

In the context of the Espionage Act, which statement reflects the argument about using the act via application to whistleblowers?

The Espionage Act should not be used against whistleblowers as it can stifle transparency and accountability, discouraging individuals from exposing misconduct.

What is the main difference between George Orwell and Aldous Huxley’s visions of future and dystopian methods of control, as outlined in an open letter from Huxley to Orwell in 1949?

Orwell's dystopia emphasizes control through fear and oppression, whereas Huxley's vision relies on control through pleasure and voluntary submission.

Which of the following is TRUE of how the Internet has impacted journalism, according to They Know Everything About You?

The phrase “the internet is forever” refers to how online news is permanent and unchanging, so once a mistake is made and spreads virally, there is no way to correct it like there was in traditional journalism.

Traditional journalism used the idea of a metaphorical “wall of separation” between the editorial content and the advertising department in order to avoid corrupting the integrity of newsgathering and truth telling, but the advertising model of the Internet removes the possibility of such walls, making online news content more driven by profit rather than honesty and accountability.

What did Edward Snowden do to trigger the espionage charges and accusations of treason?

Released classified documents uncovering an array of secret global surveillance programs run by the U.S. government and allied spy agencies in willing collaboration with giant tech and telecom corporations

In Chapter 6 of They Know Everything About You, government officials like Nancy Pelosi long misrepresented the extent of domestic surveillance by claiming that the government limited data collection to: 

Metadata only, rather than detailed contents

As discussed in Chapter 6 of They Know Everything About You, what primary justification did the Obama administration ironically provide for heavily redacting documents in response to a FOIA request about domestic surveillance in July 2014?

The desire to protect the privacy of government officials

Which of the following best describes the response of the United Nations to the Snowden revelations, as discussed in Chapter 6 of They Know Everything About You?

Snowden was praised as a defender of human rights by the UN Commissioner on Human Rights

What crime did John Kiriakou plead guilty to?

Revealing the classified identity of a CIA officer

 In the book They Everything About You, Scheer argues that whistleblowers:

Are needed

Help society

According to the book They Know Everything About You, which of the following is true with regard to American capitalism, privacy and the Internet?

American capitalism has been the driving force behind monetization of data, more specifically personal data, enabled by the Internet.

How does American capitalism impact the press?

It creates a cutthroat cycle in which newspapers prioritize profit over the quality of their information.

It creates a system where powerful billionaires and owners of corporations can buy newspapers and consequently bias forthcoming coverage.

According to Professor Scheer, why was Chief Justice Roberts' decision on Riley v. California significant?

The definition of one's private domicile as protected by the 4th Amendment was expanded to one's electronic devices.

TRUE OR FALSE? Neither the government nor any private data brokers are able to track or look into your data without a proper warrant.

 False

From "In the Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times" source, what was the name of the imagery romantic tale that was utilized by The Chandler Family in the Times to draw people to California?

Ramona

In the introduction of Professor Scheer's book "They Know Everything About You." he mentions that the economic model of the internet has equated ______ with _____. Which of the following terms belong in this statement?

privacy; anonymity

TRUE OR FALSE: The FBI wrote MLK a suicide letter with the hope that he would kill himself, because they saw him as a threat to America.

False

According to the film, MLK/FBI, under what guise did the FBI launch an investigation against Martin Luther King Jr?

Potential involvement with the Communist party

What did the FBI's fabricated letter to MLK urge him to do?

Commit suicide to escape the ruination of his career and personal life

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY: What did the FBI try to do to MLK?

1. Blackmail him with evidence of him being a communist

2. Sent him a tape recording of King participating in an affair

3. Sent him a letter to encourage him to commit suicide

4. Threaten him with harm to his family

The FBI had surveilled Martin Luther King Jr. using which of the following methods?

Watched and tailed him in public

Tapped his phone and checked his mail

Which of the following start-up tech companies in Silicon Valley mentioned in "They Know Everything About You" is funded by the Central Intelligence Agency? 

Palantir

Which person from the FBI is mainly responsible for the investigations of MLK?

J. Edgar Hoover

In the film MLK/FBI, why was the FBI worried about Martin Luther King Jr. and viewed him as a threat?

Due to his leadership in the civil rights movement

His criticism of the Vietnam War

What of the following best describes King's reaction after finding out gruesome details of the Vietnam War in a copy of Ramparts magazine?

He decided to speak out against the war, breaking his silence on the issue

In the film MLK/FBI, Dr. King is described to be in an airport where he buys a magazine and sees a series of images of napalm bombing. This prompted him to go public with his views on which war

Vietnam War

What was the name of Dr.King's advisor that was suspected of being associated with the Communist Party?

Stanley Levison

When Edward Snowden was in the Moscow airport after he blew the whistle and exposed the threat of privacy, what did the U.S. State Department do so that Snowden would not flee to another country?

They took away/lifted his passport

True or False: The War on Terror led to a significant expansion of surveillance activities by governments, including the implementation of controversial programs like the USA PATRIOT Act, which granted authorities broader powers to monitor and collect data on suspected terrorists and individuals deemed potential threats to national security.

True

In "An Open Letter from Editors and Publishers," why are the authors of the letter concerned with the government's prosecution of Julian Assange?

They believe it sets a dangerous precedent of criminalizing the work of publishers

What did whistleblower Edward Snowden discover?

The National Security Association (NSA) was paying companies for access to their telecommunication networks to reveal US citizen’s data.

Julian Assange sought asylum in which embassy to avoid extradition?

Ecuadorian Embassy

In the film, "Citizenfour", what does Edward Snowden disclose to the journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras?

Classified information about global surveillance programs

TRUE OR FALSE? President Obama praised Edward Snowden for courage, stating that as a country, we need more individuals with a strong conscience.

False

In the documentary Citizenfour, why does Edward Snowden not release the information on his own? What are his reasonings for going through the media?

Snowden wanted to make sure the public interest is being represented in a responsible manner.

What event served as a catalyst for the implementation of extensive surveillance such as those authorized by the Patriot Act?

9/11 attacks

Edward Snowden was at risk of being _____ if he had shown up to speak at his TED Talk:

Extradited

Which of the following best conveys what the Espionage Act made it a crime to do?

To convey information with the intent to interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces of the United States or to promote its enemies' success.

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY: What was Brittney Kaiser's role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2016?

She was the former business development director for Cambridge Analytica

She exposed Cambridge Analytica and made the public aware of the details of its misuse of Facebook data

Which technique did Cambridge Analytica employ for data analysis and targeted advertising?

Social Media Profiling

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY: Which campaigns did Cambridge Analytica provide data and analysis to?

Ted Cruz

Donald Trump

True/False: In "The Great Hack" film, Cambridge Analytica used social media to influence political behaviors during the Brexit campaign.

True

What company was accused of collecting millions of people's personal data on Facebook without their consent to target them with political advertising?

Cambridge Analytica

What is the term used in the documentary The Great Hack to describe the process of tailoring political messages to specific individuals based on their personal data?

Microtargeting

TRUE OR FALSE? Both Obama's and Trump's presidential campaigns utilized personal data in advertising to help win their respective elections?

True

How did The Great Hack demonstrate the impact of misinformation spread on social media during political campaigns?

It highlighted the difficulty in correcting or fixing misinformation once it spreads.

The purpose of Cambridge Analytica harvesting Facebook users' data was to:

Target them with political ads to sway their votes

What was the primary content of the Pentagon Papers?

Exposé on the Vietnam War, including government deception and decision-making

Who was Daniels Ellsberg's employer when he began contributing to the top secret study "Pentagon Papers" that were released in 1971?

RAND Corporation

What newspaper first published the Pentagon Papers?

The New York Times

TRUE OR FALSE? Based on the facts in the film “The Most Dangerous Man in America”, Daniel Ellsberg did not formally get charged with any punishments for exposing the Pentagon Papers?

False

: ___________________ was a U.S. Marine that was paralyzed from the neck down from a spinal cord injury as a result of enemy fire from the Viet Cong.

Ron Kovic

TRUE/FALSE: One of the Senate Intelligence Committee's findings in its report on torture was that the CIA's justification for the use of its enhanced interrogation techniques rested on accurate claims of their effectiveness.

True

How did the CIA approach getting information from Abu Zubaydah?

Utilizing harsh and brutal tactics

During the guest lecture with John Kiriakou, what was the reason he stated for the FBI and CIA not working well with one another pre and post 9/11?

There were professional jealousies and pettiness.

How did the approaches of the FBI and CIA compare when obtaining information from prisoners post-9/11?

The FBI used building rapport, while the CIA utilized torture techniques.

What method was NOT used by the CIA during their enhanced interrogation program?

rapport-building

According to the article "The Legal Prohibition Against Torture" by the Human Rights Watch, which of the following is true?

Torture is as likely to yield false information as it is to yield the truth.

True or False: Russia's involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election primarily involved cyberattacks aimed at influencing public opinion and undermining the democratic process.

True

What of the following was the infamous slogan that was used against the US press by Trump when questioned about the "Russiagate" scandal?

Fake News”

TRUE OR FALSE? It has been confirmed that Donald Trump worked with Russia to influence the results of the 2016 Presidential Election and he has been formally charged with collusion since the discovery.

False

Which official report was concerned with the investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election?

The Mueller Report

What crime was Trump accused of in his first impeachment:

Conspiracy against Congress

How has the executive branch historically tended to gain more power?

During times of crisis or war