Congress poster seen in office of Cambridge Analytica’s EX-CEO
NEW DELHI: A Congress party poster can be seen in the London office of the former CEO of Cambridge Analytica (CA), the company accused of using Facebook data to influence elections in other countries, in a BBC documentary that aired last September, senior BJP leaders pointed out on Wednesday.
In a tweet posted on Wednesday, information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani said: “Kya Baat hai @Rahulgandhi Ji.. Congress ka Haath, Cambridge Analytica ke Saath!”
The Congress and the BJP have accused each other of using Cambridge Analytica in elections across the country. Christopher Wylie, the whistle-blower who exposed CA’S use of Facebook data, told a British parliamentary panel on Tuesday he “believes” the firm had been hired by the Congress.
The Congress has repeatedly said it had no links with the firm. Asked about the poster displayed in CA’S former CEO Alexander Nix’s office, a spokesperson for the Congress reiterated that the party’s assertion that it had never hired the firm.
Journalist Jamie Bartlett’s two-part documentary Secrets of Silicon Valley explored how Silicon Valley’s mission to connect the world was disrupting democ- racy and plunging the world into “an age of political turbulence”. It specifically explored the role played by social media and Facebook in getting Donald Trump into the White House.
Bartlett interviewed Nix at his London office to learn about the methods CA had used for the campaigns of Ted Cruz and Trump, including the use of Facebook data to predict the actions and personalities of voters.
As Bartlett speaks to Nix, a poster of the Congress can be seen within a frame on the wall behind him. Also on the wall are framed photos of leaders and parties whose campaigns had engaged the firm, such as Cruz and Trump.