Cambridge Analytica played key role in US polls

The suspended chief executive of UK-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica claimed in secretly recorded video that his company played a decisive role in the 2016 election campaign of President Donald Trump, Channel 4 News reported on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

British broadcaster Channel 4 News mounted a "sting operation" in which it secretly recorded Cambridge Analytica Chief Executive Alexander Nix saying he had met the then Republican presidential candidate "many times" and that his firm played a central role in the final months of the campaign.

"We did all the research. We did all the data. We did all the analytics. We did all the targeting. We ran all the digital campaign and our data informed their strategy," Nix told an undercover reporter during a meeting in a London hotel.

Brad Parscale, the 2016 Trump campaign's main digital adviser who dealt regularly with Cambridge Analytica, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Parscale was recently named manager of Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.

Nix was suspended by the board of directors of Cambridge Analytica on Tuesday, the company said shortly before the second part of the British news programme's expose on the company.

The London-based company's statement said: "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."