AggregateIQ potentially caught currently screwing with Ireland: https://t.co/U3zRkhcvv7
(Internet archive page showing subdomain of AIQ running gript[.]ie website. The initial common interpretation being that AIQ is in some way involved in its operation.)
— Chris Vickery (@VickerySec) January 22, 2020
Via a Canada=-based Reddit user, :
‘Anyone else find it weird that a company located in Victoria British Columbia [Canada] is so active in elections around the world?
For those who don’t know, this is the company that was under severe investigation due to taking part in the Brexit and Ted Cruz campaigns of yesteryear.
In this latest example AggregateIQ is running a company called “Gript” targeted at Irish voters.
It has tens of thousands of followers in Ireland and purports itself to be a local-to-Ireland company. (registered in Ireland as “GRIPT MEDIA LIMITED”)
I mean could you be more sketchy AggregateIQ?
Oh yeah, they can.
Their privacy page is just a never ending loading screen…’
Anyone?
UPDATE:
@john_mcguirk Has Gript a commercial (or any) relationship with AggregateIQ?
— Gavin Sheridan (@gavinsblog) January 23, 2020
It’s 9.26am, and you’ve no particular entitlement to an answer anyway, so pipe down. And yeah, we hired them.
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
An early riser so. What’s the nature of the commercial relationship?
— Gavin Sheridan (@gavinsblog) January 23, 2020
We pay them. They help us reach more readers. Pretty much digital growth partnership 101.
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
General trends and that sort of thing, I assume. It would be odd not to.
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
I genuinely have no idea. I’m the editor, I produce some content and determine the rest. I’m exclusively responsible for what’s on the site. I don’t run analytics and advertising.
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
“Doing”, not did. They’re helping us optimise our digital growth and advertising strategies, helping us identify what kind of story does well with what kind of audience, that sort of thing.
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
We’re doing okay actually. About 70k unique Irish visitors a week on average. Not huge, but a decent place to be after 6 months.
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
In response to queries, Gript is partnering with AIQ as part of our digital growth strategy, aiming to build on our current 70k unique readers a week. Our only long term objective with Gript is to broaden and expand the terms of, and space for, debate. 1/2
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
What does that partnership involve? Identifying audience trends, seeing what people are interested in, optimising headlines, that sort of thing. Fairly basic stuff. They have no imput over content, the buck for which stops solely with me. 2/2
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
In time I would like to. It’s a matter of resources and talent. If we do sports I want the capacity to do it properly.
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
Okay: in plain terms, they help us reach more potential readers. That’s it.
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 23, 2020
Via John McGuirk
Good to know, thanks.
” this is the company that was under severe investigation due to taking part in the Brexit and Ted Cruz campaigns of yesteryear. ”
Really ?
A severe investigation ?
By who, the tin foil-hatted Twattersphere ?
by the Canadian privacy commissioner found to have broken the law https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-canada-aggregateiq-idUSKBN1Y02DC
The Brexit campaign achieved the majority of votes cast in the referendum. That decision was ratified resoundingly by the most recent election victory of the Tories.
Ted Cruz is a Republican senator from Texas. He’s not “far-right”. Any insinuation by the author that there is something unseemly by being associated with either of these by virtue of using the same service-provider is bizarre.
Maybe Ruth Coppinger uses the same broadband provider as me. That doesn’t mean that I’m a raving socialist.
The privacy page does load, and gives its address as 6 Gardiner Place, an address it shares with The Life Institute and Youth Defence.
I was sure it was run by your man, the young pro-life fellow, John McGuirk
Looks madly like a Russian fake news site,certainly.
Aye, I was of the impression Gript was in some way affiliated to one/both those…(?)
https://www.vision-net.ie/Company-Info/Gript-Media-Limited-640146
The company director of Gript listed here is Ms O’Hara.
https://twitter.com/StevenOMcCarthy/status/1173886500276244480
“Ide O’Hara is Niamh Uí Bhriain’s sister.”
Niamh Uí Bhriain is the co-founder of Youth Defence.
https://www.thejournal.ie/pro-life-campaign-2019-4705381-Jul2019/
“NiamhUí Bhriain says a dedicated Gript website will be launched at the end of July and will counter the ‘sheepishness that sometimes clouds our view’ in Ireland.”
I haven’t received any advertisements from them. I think I’ll sue them for discrimination after the election.
Fairly well covered elsewhere: https://www.businesspost.ie/news-focus/pro-life-groups-fund-new-website-in-response-to-liberal-bias-in-mainstream-media-8227342c
I wonder how much Grift Media, which has a donations button to keep them in pin money, pays Aggregateiq for their work. The DUP paid many thousands. https://twitter.com/patrickcorrigan/status/975839673321951233
Can’t wait for those accounts to be published!
+1 for Grift Media
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