The CEO of Cambridge Analytica, the firm at the centre of the Facebook data harvesting scandal, has been suspended as reports continue to shed light on the firm’s wider activities.
Andrew Nix has been placed on leave by the company’s board after undercover Channel 4 news footage emerged of him pitching Cambridge Analytica’s services to an undercover reporter.
During the recordings, the head of the London-based firm appeared to suggest using sex workers or financial corruption stings to entrap politicians.
He was also recorded saying: “It sounds a dreadful thing to say, but these are things that don’t necessarily need to be true as long as they’re believed.”
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In a statement the company said Nix will be suspended during an independent investigation.
The firm wrote: “The board of Cambridge Analytica has announced today that it has suspended CEO Alexander Nix with immediate effect pending a full, independent investigation.
“In the view of the board, Mr. Nix’s recent comments secretly recorded by Channel 4 and other allegations do not represent the values or operations of the firm and his suspension reflects the seriousness with which we view this violation.”
In new revelations on Tuesday, The Guardian published the transcripts of more conversations secretly recorded by Channel 4 news.
During those recordings Nix boasts the controversial firm won the US presidential election for Donald Trump.
Nix said: “We did all the research. All the data, all the analytics, all the targeting. We ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign, and our data informed all the strategy.”
“We just put information into the bloodstream of the internet and then watch it grow, give it a little push every now and again over time to watch it take shape.
“And so this stuff infiltrates the online community, but with no branding, so it’s unattributable, untrackable.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
