Cambridge Analytica suspends CEO after undercover video released


Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix was suspended by the company on Tuesday, following the release of a secret recording that features Nix talking to an undercover reporter about how to obtain compromising material on an opponent.
The data company worked for President Trump's campaign, and in the tapes, Nix and other executives hint they used bribes and other underhanded techniques to influence more than 200 elections around the world. The undercover reporter was from Britain's Channel 4, and posed as someone who wanted dirt on a Sri Lankan candidate. Nix told him he could "send some girls around to the candidate's house," and when pressed, said they would be Ukrainians. "They are very beautiful," he said. "I find that works very well."
Cambridge Analytica said on Monday the report had been "edited and scripted" to misrepresent the conversations. On Tuesday, the company said it would launch a "full, independent investigation."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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