{"entity":{"id":147,"slug":"aleksandr-kogan","name":"Aleksandr Kogan","type":"person","role":"Russian-American academic who harvested Facebook data","description":null,"imageUrl":null,"createdAt":"2026-04-08T01:37:59.460Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-19T09:18:28.631Z"},"electedOffice":null,"significance":{"score":12,"components":{"totalFindings":0,"connectionDegree":8,"recentFindings90d":0,"activeResearchJobs":0,"goblinAttributions":4,"recentSyntheses90d":0,"moneyFlowChainsTotal":0,"closedLoopMemberships":0,"moneyFlowHopsRecent90d":0},"computedAt":"2026-10-16T01:34:31.424Z"},"facts":[{"id":12343,"text":"Aleksandr Kogan filed filing with the SEC on 2025-01-06. Accession number: N/A.","confidence":"secondary","dateOccurred":"2025-01-06","source":{"title":"SEC EDGAR: filing — Aleksandr Kogan (2025-01-06)","url":"https://efts.sec.gov/LATEST/search-index?q=%22Aleksandr%20Kogan%22&dateRange=custom&forms=4,SC%2013D,SC%2013G,DEF%2014A,10-K,10-Q","publication":"SEC EDGAR"}},{"id":12342,"text":"KOGAN, ALEKSANDR of STATEN ISLAND, NY (employer: NOVOTEL HOTEL, occupation: PAINTER) made a campaign contribution of $10 to ACTBLUE on 2019-06-12. FEC transaction ID: SA11AI_161025182.","confidence":"primary","dateOccurred":"2019-06-12","source":{"title":"FEC: KOGAN, ALEKSANDR donation $10 to ACTBLUE","url":"https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?committee_id=C00401224&contributor_name=Aleksandr%20Kogan","publication":"Federal Election Commission (FEC)"}},{"id":21032,"text":"Search scope note: No lobbying disclosures found for \"Aleksandr Kogan\" in automated database search as of 2026-04-23. This reflects search coverage limits, not confirmed absence from public record.","confidence":"inferential","dateOccurred":null,"source":null}],"connections":[{"id":734,"relationshipType":"data provider","description":"Kogan's company GSR collected Facebook data that was used by Bannon's Cambridge Analytica","confidence":"confirmed","firstDocumented":null,"lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":15,"name":"Steve Bannon","slug":"steve-bannon","type":"person"}},{"id":17190,"relationshipType":"Business associate","description":"Aleksandr Kogan was the academic who provided data to Cambridge Analytica, which Mercer co-founded.","confidence":"inferential","firstDocumented":"2016","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":136,"name":"Rebekah Mercer","slug":"rebekah-mercer","type":"person"}},{"id":17224,"relationshipType":"Legal/Regulatory","description":"Kogan's work resulted in significant regulatory actions against Meta (formerly Facebook) for allowing third-party access to user data without adequate consent.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2018","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":9869,"name":"Meta Platforms","slug":"meta-platforms","type":"company"}},{"id":17223,"relationshipType":"Legal/Regulatory","description":"Kogan's Facebook data harvesting operation led to Mark Zuckerberg's congressional testimony and Facebook's $5 billion FTC fine over data privacy violations.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2018","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":9080,"name":"Mark Zuckerberg","slug":"mark-zuckerberg","type":"person"}},{"id":17219,"relationshipType":"Legal/Regulatory","description":"Kogan's data collection practices through his Facebook app led to investigations and legal actions by Facebook/Meta for violating platform policies by sharing user data with third parties.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2018","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":196,"name":"Facebook Technologies LLC","slug":"facebook-technologies-llc","type":"company"}},{"id":17218,"relationshipType":"affiliation","description":"Alexander Slinger was a director at Cambridge Analytica who was involved in the relationship with Kogan and Global Science Research.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2014","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":285,"name":"Alexander Slinger","slug":"alexander-slinger","type":"person"}},{"id":17217,"relationshipType":"affiliation","description":"SCL Group was the parent company of Cambridge Analytica. Kogan's data collection work through GSR was contracted by SCL/Cambridge Analytica for political consulting.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2014","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":126,"name":"SCL Group","slug":"scl-group","type":"company"}},{"id":17216,"relationshipType":"affiliation","description":"Christopher Wylie was the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower who revealed the company's use of data obtained through Kogan's app, making them key figures in the same scandal.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2018","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":146,"name":"Christopher Wylie","slug":"christopher-wylie","type":"person"}},{"id":17125,"relationshipType":"Data provider","description":"Aleksandr Kogan, through Global Science Research, collected data that was subsequently used by AggregateIQ for political ad targeting.","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2014","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":145,"name":"AggregateIQ","slug":"aggregateiq","type":"company"}},{"id":17104,"relationshipType":"data intermediary","description":"Aleksandr Kogan created the 'This Is Your Digital Life' app used by Cambridge Analytica to harvest Facebook data through Global Science Research","confidence":"primary","firstDocumented":"2014","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":125,"name":"Cambridge Analytica","slug":"cambridge-analytica","type":"company"}},{"id":15839,"relationshipType":"ownership/control","description":"Aleksandr Kogan was the founder and director of This Is Your Digital Life. 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Joseph Chancellor is listed in the same network cluster, indicating a connection through the data harvesting operation.","confidence":"secondary","firstDocumented":"2018","lastDocumented":null,"other":{"id":283,"name":"Joseph Chancellor","slug":"joseph-chancellor","type":"person"}}],"contradictions":[],"permalink":"https://www.goblinhouse.net/entity/aleksandr-kogan","timelineUrl":"https://www.goblinhouse.net/entity/aleksandr-kogan/timeline"}