Facebook's role in Brexit — and the threat to democracy | Carole Cadwalladr

譯者: Helen Chang 審譯者: Marssi Draw

So, on the day after the Brexit vote,

在英國脫歐公投後的次日，

in June 2016,

那時是 2016 年 6 月，

when Britain woke up to the shock

英國人從夢中驚醒過來，

of discovering that we're leaving the European Union,

發現我們即將離開歐盟。

my editor at the "Observer" newspaper in the UK

我們英國衛報的編輯

asked me to go back to South Wales, where I grew up, and to write a report.

派我回到南威爾斯去寫個報導， 那裡是我成長的地方。

And so I went to a town called Ebbw Vale.

於是我去到了一個叫做 埃布韋爾的小鎮。

Here it is.

就是地圖上這個地方。

It's in the South Wales Valleys, which is this quite special place.

它位於南威爾斯谷， 是個很特別的地方。

So it's had this very, sort of rich, working-class culture,

這裡充滿著工薪階層的文化，

and it's famous for its Welsh male voice choirs and rugby and its coal.

最著名的是威爾斯男聲合唱團、
 橄欖球，還有煤礦。

But when I was a teenager, the coal mines and the steelworks closed,

但在我的青少年時期，
 煤礦和鋼鐵廠都關閉了，

and the entire area was devastated.

整個地區遭受非常嚴重的挫敗。

And I went there because it had one of the highest "Leave" votes in the country.

我去那裡是因為該地區 「贊成」脫歐率居全國之冠。

Sixty-two percent of the people here voted to leave the European Union.

有 62% 的人贊成離開歐盟。

And I wanted to know why.

我想知道為什麼。

When I got there, I was just a bit taken aback,

到那裡之後，我有點吃驚，

because the last time I went to Ebbw Vale,

因為上一回我到埃布韋爾時，

it looked like this.

它看起來是這付模樣。

And now, it looks like this.

而現在看起來是這個樣子。

This is a new 33-million-pound college of further education

這是新建的高等教育學院， 花了 3300 萬英鎊，

that was mostly funded by the European Union.

資金主要由歐盟提供。

And this is the new sports center

這是新的運動中心，

that's at the middle of 350-million-pound regeneration project

含在 3.5 億英鎊的重建項目內，

that's being funded by the European Union.

由歐盟出資。

And this is the new 77-million-pound road-improvement scheme,

這是 7700 萬英鎊的 新建道路改善計劃，

and there's a new train line, a new railway station,

還有新的鐵道和新的車站，

and they're all being funded by the European Union.

通通都由歐盟出資。

And it's not as if any of this is a secret,

這些可不是秘密，

因為到處都有這樣的大標示：

because there's big signs like this everywhere.

[EU Funds: Investing in Wales]

【歐盟基金：投資威爾斯】

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I had this sort of weird sense of unreality,

我帶著這種如夢似幻的不真實感

walking around the town.

走在這個鎮上。

And it came to a head

就在這個時候，

when I met this young man in front of the sports center.

我在運動中心前面遇到一個年輕人。

And he told me that he had voted to leave,

他告訴我他投票贊成脫歐，

because the European Union had done nothing for him.

因為歐盟對他毫無作為。

He was fed up with it.

他受夠了。

And all around town, people told me the same thing.

鎮上處處都有人對我說同樣的話。

They said that they wanted to take back control,

他們宣稱要取回掌控權，

which was one of the slogans in the campaign.

那是脫歐行動宣傳的口號之一。

And they told me that they were most fed up

他們告訴我主要是

with the immigrants and with the refugees.

他們受夠了移民和難民。

They'd had enough.

他們真的受夠了。

Which was odd.

這非常奇怪。

Because walking around, I didn't meet any immigrants or refugees.

因為我走來走去，
 沒遇到半個移民或是難民。

I met one Polish woman who told me

我遇到了一個波蘭的婦人告訴我

she was practically the only foreigner in town.

事實上她是鎮上唯一的外國人。

And when I checked the figures,

我去查了數字，

I discovered that Ebbw Vale actually has

發現埃布韋爾事實上

one of the lowest rates of immigration in the country.

是全英國
移民率最低的地方之一。

And so I was just a bit baffled,

我百思不得其解，

because I couldn't really understand

因為我全然不知道

where people were getting their information from.

這裡的人是從哪兒得到資訊的。

因為那些是右翼的小報紙

Because it was the right-wing tabloid newspapers

所報導的移民故事。

which printed all these stories about immigration.

而這裡絕大部分人是左翼的勞工。

And this is a very much left-wing Labour stronghold.

But then after the article came out, this woman got in touch with me.

文章見報之後，
有位女士聯繫我。

And she was from Ebbw Vale,

她是埃布韋爾人，

and she told me about all this stuff that she'd seen on Facebook.

她告訴我她從臉書上看到的訊息。

I was like, "What stuff?"

我納悶：「看到什麼呀？」

And she said it was all this quite scary stuff about immigration,

她說是那些關於移民的恐怖故事，

尤其是關於土耳其的。

and especially about Turkey.

So I tried to find it.

於是我試著去找出來到底是什麼。

But there was nothing there.

但是根本找不到任何東西。

Because there's no archive of ads that people had seen

因為那些人看過的廣告沒被存檔，

or what had been pushed into their news feeds.

推播給他們的新聞也沒被存檔。

No trace of anything, gone completely dark.

沒任何痕跡，沒一點影子。

And this referendum that will have this profound effect forever on Britain --

而此次公投的結果
將會 對英國造成永久的影響——

it's already had a profound effect:

它已經影響深切：

the Japanese car manufacturers that came to Wales and the north east

以前日本車廠到威爾斯 和英國東北部來設廠，

to replace the mining jobs --

取代了採煤的工作——

they are already going because of Brexit.

因為英國要脫歐， 日本車廠已經在撤出了。

And this entire referendum took place in darkness,

這整個公投在暗中發生，

because it took place on Facebook.

因為是發生在臉書上，

And what happens on Facebook stays on Facebook,

而臉書上發生的事留在臉書裡頭，

because only you see your news feed, and then it vanishes,

因為只有你看得到推播給你的新聞，
 之後那些新聞就完全消失了，

so it's impossible to research anything.

所以根本無法研究任何東西。

So we have no idea who saw what ads

我們完全不知道誰看了那些廣告，

or what impact they had,

那些廣告造成什麼樣的影響，

or what data was used to target these people.

或是哪些資料被運用到
那些 被設定為目標人群的身上。

Or even who placed the ads, or how much money was spent,

甚至不知道是什麼人 花了多少錢置放那些廣告，

or even what nationality they were.

甚至不知道他們到底是哪一國人。

But Facebook does.

然而臉書知道這些答案。

Facebook has these answers,

臉書瞭然於胸，

and it's refused to give them to us.

卻拒絕讓我們曉得這些答案。

Our parliament has asked Mark Zuckerberg multiple times to come to Britain

英國國會多次要求 馬克·祖克柏來英國

and to give us these answers.

提供我們這些答案，

And every single time, he's refused.

每一次他都拒絕了。

And you have to wonder why.

你必然會納悶到底為什麼。

Because what I and other journalists have uncovered

因為我和其他記者已經發現

is that multiple crimes took place during the referendum.

在公投期間發生了多起罪行，

And they took place on Facebook.

發生在臉書上。

It's because in Britain, we limit the amount of money

因為我們英國 限制選舉可花費的金額。

that you can spend in an election.

And it's because in the 19th century,

這是因為在 19 世紀時

people would walk around with literally wheelbarrows of cash

有人推著一整車的現金

and just buy voters.

去買票。

So we passed these strict laws to stop that from happening.

因此我們訂立嚴格的法律 不讓這樣的情形再度發生。

But those laws don't work anymore.

但是這些法律現在已經不適用了。

This referendum took place almost entirely online.

此次公投幾乎全在線上舉行。

And you can spend any amount of money on Facebook or on Google or on YouTube ads

不管你花多少錢在臉書、 谷歌
或 YouTube 上頭做廣告，

and nobody will know, because they're black boxes.

沒有人會知道，
 因為那些根本就是黑箱。

And this is what happened.

因此就發生了這情況。

We've actually got no idea of the full extent of it.

事實上我們根本不知道 牽涉有多廣。

But we do know that in the last days before the Brexit vote,

但我們知道在即將舉行 英國脫歐公投的前幾天，

the official "Vote Leave" campaign

那個推動脫歐運動的正式機構

laundered nearly three quarters of a million pounds

擲下將近 75 萬英鎊，

through another campaign entity

透過另一個競選單位洗錢，

that our electoral commission has ruled was illegal,

被我們的選務機關判定為非法，

and it's referred it to the police.

並已提報給警察機關。

And with this illegal cash,

該機構用這些非法的資金

"Vote Leave" unleashed a fire hose of disinformation.

大量散佈假資訊。

Ads like this.

像這樣的廣告。

[Turkey's 76m people joining the EU]

【土耳其的 7600 萬人加入歐盟】

This is a lie, it's a total lie.

這是謊言，全然的謊言。

Turkey is not joining the European Union.

土耳其沒要加入歐盟。

There's not even any discussions of it joining the European Union.

事實上連「討論」加入歐盟都沒有。

And most of us, we never saw these ads,

我們大多數人從未見過這樣的廣告，

because we were not the target of them.

因為這些廣告的目標不是我們。

"Vote Leave" identified a tiny sliver of people

「脫歐」廣告針對少數特定的人，

who it identified as persuadable, and they saw them.

那些他們判定容易被說動的人。

And the only reason we are seeing these now

而我們現在看得到這些的唯一原因

is because parliament forced Facebook to hand them over.

是因為國會強迫臉書交出來。

And maybe you think,

或許你會想，

"Well, it was just a bit of overspending.

「好吧，只是多花了點錢吧。

It's a few lies."

不過是一點謊言。」

But this was the biggest electoral fraud in Britain for 100 years.

然而這可是英國百年來 最大的選舉舞弊。

In a once-in-a-generation vote

這可是整個世代唯一一次

that hinged upon just one percent of the electorate.

票數差別僅僅 1% 的選舉。

And it was just one of the crimes that took place in the referendum.

而且這只是此次公投的
眾多罪行之一。

There was another group,

還有另一團體，

which was headed by this man, Nigel Farage,

由奈傑·法拉吉這個人主導，

the one to the right of Trump.

是照片中川普右邊那個人。

And his group, "Leave.EU" -- it also broke the law.

他的「Leave.EU」脫歐團隊也違法。

It broke British electoral laws and British data laws,

違反了英國選舉法和數據法，

and it's also being referred to the police.

也被提報給警方。

And this man, Arron Banks, he funded this campaign.

是阿龍·班克斯這個人 出錢推動脫歐運動。

And in a completely separate case,

他在全然不同的另外一案中

he's being referred to our National Crime Agency,

已經被移送至國家犯罪總署，

our equivalent of the FBI,

相當於美國 FBI 的對等機構，

because our electoral commission

因為我們的選務委員會已得出結論：

has concluded they don't know where his money came from.

不知道他的錢來自何方，

Or if it was even British.

甚至不知道到底是不是英國的資金。

And I'm not even going to go into the lies that Arron Banks has told

而我甚至不打算談論 阿龍·班克斯的謊言，

about his covert relationship with the Russian government.

關於他跟俄國政府秘密關係的謊言。

Or the weird timing of Nigel Farage's meetings with Julian Assange

也不提奈傑·法拉吉 詭異的會面時刻，

他與朱利安·亞桑傑

and with Trump's buddy, Roger Stone, now indicted,

和他與川普現已被起訴的伙伴 羅傑·斯通的會面時間點，

immediately before two massive WikiLeaks dumps,

恰好就在維基解密 兩次大規模傾倒資訊之前。

both of which happened to benefit Donald Trump.

兩次都讓川普得益。

But I will tell you that Brexit and Trump were intimately entwined.

但我要告訴大家

英國脫歐與川普密不可分。

This man told me that Brexit was the petri dish for Trump.

這個人讓我知道 英國脫歐是川普的培養皿。

And we know it's the same people, the same companies,

我們知道是同樣的人、同樣的公司、

the same data, the same techniques,

同樣的數據、同樣的手法、

the same use of hate and fear.

同樣使用仇恨和恐懼。

This is what they were posting on Facebook.

這是他們貼在臉書上的。 【未同化的移民等於入侵】

And I don't even want to call this a lie,

我甚至懶得說這是謊言，

[Immigration without assimilation equals invasion]

因為我覺得這更像是仇恨罪。

because it feels more like a hate crime to me.

I don't have to tell you

不用我說，

that hate and fear are being sown online all across the world.

仇恨與恐懼被深植於 世界各地的網上。

Not just in Britain and America, but in France and in Hungary

不只英國、美國， 法國和匈牙利也有，

and Brazil and Myanmar and New Zealand.

還有巴西、緬甸，和紐西蘭。

And we know there is this dark undertow which is connecting us all globally.

我們知道這暗流 與全球的你和我連結著。

And it is flowing via the technology platforms.

它透過技術平台流動。

But we only see a tiny amount of what's going on on the surface.

我們只看到冰山上的一角。

And I only found out anything about this dark underbelly

我得以看到這黑暗的軟肋

because I started looking into Trump's relationship to Farage,

是因為我開始研究 川普和法拉吉的關係，

into a company called Cambridge Analytica.

調查到一家叫做 「劍橋分析」的公司。

And I spent months tracking down an ex-employee, Christopher Wiley.

我花了好幾個月的時間追查到

該公司的前員工克里斯多福·懷利。

And he told me how this company, that worked for both Trump and Brexit,

他告訴我這家公司 為川普和英國脫歐效力，

had profiled people politically

他們怎樣側寫人們的政治傾向，

in order to understand their individual fears,

為的是了解這些人的個別恐懼，

to better target them with Facebook ads.

以用來針對他們散佈臉書廣告。

And it did this by illicitly harvesting the profiles

做法是非法地採集資料，

of 87 million people from Facebook.

採收 8700 萬人的臉書資料。

It took an entire year's work to get Christopher on the record.

花了一整年的功夫

才把克里斯多福的話記錄在案。

And I had to turn myself from a feature writer

我得把我的角色

into an investigative reporter to do it.

從寫稿記者轉變為調查記者。

And he was extraordinarily brave,

他非常勇敢，

because the company is owned by Robert Mercer,

因為這個公司的所有人 是
羅伯特·默瑟，

the billionaire who bankrolled Trump,

是個以財力支持川普的億萬富翁，

and he threatened to sue us multiple times,

他多次恐嚇要控告我們，

to stop us from publishing.

不讓我們報導。

But we finally got there, and we were one day ahead of publication.

但我們終於完成了， 就在刊出的前一天，

We got another legal threat.

我們收到另一起訴訟威脅。

Not from Cambridge Analytica this time,

這次不是劍橋分析公司，

but from Facebook.

而是臉書。

It told us that if we publish, they would sue us.

臉書威脅如果刊出就要告我們。

We did it anyway.

我們仍然刊出了。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Facebook, you were on the wrong side of history in that.

臉書，那回你的選擇 在史上留下惡名。

And you were on the wrong side of history in this --

這回你又選擇再加一筆，

in refusing to give us the answers that we need.

因為你拒絕提供我們需要的答案。

And that is why I am here.

這是為什麼我今天站在這裡，

To address you directly, the gods of Silicon Valley.

直接對矽谷的神祇們喊話。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Mark Zuckerberg ...

馬克·祖克柏……

(Applause)

（掌聲）

and Sheryl Sandberg and Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Jack Dorsey,

還有雪柔·桑德伯格、賴利·佩吉、 謝爾蓋·布林，和傑克·多西，

and your employees and your investors, too.

以及你們的員工和金主。

Because 100 years ago,

因為 100 年前，

the biggest danger in the South Wales coal mines was gas.

南威爾斯煤礦面臨的 最大危險是天然氣。

Silent and deadly and invisible.

無聲、無形且致命。

It's why they sent the canaries down first to check the air.

那是他們帶金絲雀
進礦坑 監測裡頭空氣的原因。

And in this massive, global, online experiment that we are all living through,

現在我們共同經歷
這大規模、 全球性的線上實驗，

we in Britain are the canary.

在英國的我們就是現代的金絲雀。

We are what happens to a western democracy

我們正是西方民主世界的

when a hundred years of electoral laws are disrupted by technology.

百年選舉法被科技毁壞的結果。

Our democracy is broken, our laws don't work anymore,

我們的民主被摧毀，法令不再適用，

and it's not me saying this,

這話不是我說的，

it's our parliament published a report saying this.

是我國國會發表的報告裡說的。

This technology that you have invented has been amazing.

你們發明非常驚人的科技。

But now, it's a crime scene.

但是現在卻變成了犯罪現場。

And you have the evidence.

你們掌握著證據。

And it is not enough to say that you will do better in the future.

光說「以後會做得更好」是不夠的。

Because to have any hope of stopping this from happening again,

因為要能不重蹈覆轍的唯一希望

we have to know the truth.

在於我們必須知道真相。

And maybe you think, "Well, it was just a few ads.

或許你認為： 「不過是幾則廣告而已。

And people are smarter than that, right?"

人們可沒那麼笨，對吧？」

To which I would say, "Good luck with that."

對此我必須說：「祝你好運。」

Because what the Brexit vote demonstrates

因為英國脫歐公投顯示

is that liberal democracy is broken.

自由民主已被摧毁了。

And you broke it.

是你們摧毁的。

This is not democracy --

這可不是民主——

spreading lies in darkness, paid for with illegal cash,

在暗地裡散播謊言， 用非法的資金付廣告費，

from God knows where.

天知道這些錢從哪兒來的。

It's subversion,

這是顛覆，

and you are accessories to it.

而你們是共犯。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Our parliament has been the first in the world

我們國會是世上第一個

to try to hold you to account,

試圖要你們負責的，

and it's failed.

卻失敗了。

You are literally beyond the reach of British law -- not just British laws,

在字面上英國法律對你們沒轍——

不僅僅是英國法律，

this is nine parliaments, nine countries are represented here,

這裡是代表九個國家的國會，

who Mark Zuckerberg refused to come and give evidence to.

馬克·祖克柏拒絕出席和交出證據。

And what you don't seem to understand is that this is bigger than you.

你似乎不明白，這遠遠大過你，

And it's bigger than any of us.

遠遠大過我們任何人。

And it is not about left or right or "Leave" or "Remain" or Trump or not.

這可不是左派或右派， 留歐或脫歐，支持或反對川普，

It's about whether it's actually possible

而是在於有沒有可能

to have a free and fair election ever again.

再舉行任何自由和公正的選舉了。

Because as it stands, I don't think it is.

因為在目前這情況下， 我認為不可能。

And so my question to you is, is this what you want?

因此我要問，這是你們要的嗎？

Is this how you want history to remember you:

你們要在歷史上如此留名：

as the handmaidens to authoritarianism

當威權主義的僕役，

that is on the rise all across the world?

助長當今全球各地 紛紛崛起的威權主義？

Because you set out to connect people.

因為你的初衷是要彼此連結，

And you are refusing to acknowledge

而你現在拒絕承認同樣的科技

that the same technology is now driving us apart.

事實上正將我們彼此推離。

And my question to everybody else is,

我對其他每個人的問題則是：

is this what we want:

我們要讓這些人僥倖逃脫，

to let them get away with it,

and to sit back and play with our phones, as this darkness falls?

只是坐在一旁玩手機， 一直玩到黑暗降臨大地嗎？

（倒吸一口氣的聲音）

The history of the South Wales Valleys is of a fight for rights.

這起南威爾斯谷事件攸關爭取權利，

And this is not a drill -- it's a point of inflection.

不是演習，而是轉折點。

Democracy is not guaranteed, and it is not inevitable,

民主不是被應許的，不必然會有，

and we have to fight and we have to win

我們必須要為民主奮鬥， 而且我們必須勝出。

and we cannot let these tech companies have this unchecked power.

我們不能讓這些科技公司 擁有毫無限制的力量。

It's up to us -- you, me and all of us.

這取決於我們── 你、我，我們所有人。

We are the ones who have to take back control.

我們必須取回掌控權！

(Applause)

（掌聲）

(Cheers)

（歡呼聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）