Cambridge Analytica

Cambridge Analytica Ltd.
Company type	Private
Industry	Political consultancy
Founded	2013
Founder	Nigel Oakes, Alexander Nix, Alexander Oakes
Defunct	2018
Fate	Ceased operations following data scandal and bankruptcy
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom, United States, Trinidad and Tobago, others
Key people	Alexander Nix (former CEO), Julian Wheatland (CEO after Nix)
Products	Data analytics, political consulting, voter profiling
Owner	Vincent Tchenguiz, Jonathan Marland, Robert Mercer family members
Parent	SCL Group

Cambridge Analytica Ltd. (CA), previously known as SCL USA, was a UK-based political consultancy firm that gained notoriety due to the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data controversy. Established in 2013 as a branch of the private intelligence organization and "global election management agency" SCL Group, it was founded by executives Nigel Oakes, Alexander Nix, and Alexander Oakes, with Nix serving as CEO. Cambridge Analytica collaborated with a variety of political clients, including the Trinidadian government in 2010 and the 2016 U.S. presidential campaigns of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. The company maintained offices in London, New York City, and Washington, D.C. It halted operations in 2018 following public backlash from the scandal, although affiliated entities connected to Cambridge Analytica and SCL remain active.

History

Founded in 2013 as a subsidiary of the private intelligence company SCL Group, which specializes in providing "data, analytics and strategy to governments and military organizations worldwide," Cambridge Analytica was part of an international consortium of firms under the leadership of London-based SCL Group. Incorporated in January 2013 with its registered office at Westferry Circus, London, the company initially appointed CEO Alexander Nix. Nix also managed nine associated companies including Firecrest Technologies, Emerdata, and six other SCL Group subsidiaries such as "SCL elections limited".Nigel Oakes, who founded SCL Group during the 1990s alongside his brother Alexander Oakes and Nix in 2005, played a key role. Former Conservative minister Sir Geoffrey Pattie acted as founding chairman of SCL; Lord Ivar Mountbatten was also among its directors. After the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal emerged, Nix was removed from his CEO position and succeeded by Julian Wheatland prior to the company’s closure. Several executives hailed from Old Etonians backgrounds.

Ownership comprised significant Conservative Party benefactors such as billionaire Vincent Tchenguiz, ex-minister Jonathan Marland, Baron Marland, and relatives of hedge fund manager Robert Mercer. The firm integrated unauthorized use of digital resources, data mining, brokerage, and analytical services with strategic communication throughout electoral campaigns. While SCL historically concentrated on elections in developing nations since the 1990s, Cambridge Analytica focused on Western markets including the UK and US; CEO Nix asserted participation in 44 U.S. political contests during 2014. In 2015, CA offered data analytics for Ted Cruz's presidential campaign, followed by work on Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Leave.EU during the UK's referendum on EU membership in 2016. The company's involvement in these campaigns has been contentious and remains subject to investigation in both countries. Political analysts have questioned the efficacy of CA’s voter-targeting techniques.

Data scandal

In March 2018, media investigations exposed controversial practices employed by Cambridge Analytica. Reports revealed that the company obtained personal information from Facebook users via an external researcher who falsely represented the data collection as academic research. Undercover footage featured CEO Alexander Nix boasting about employing methods such as bribery and honey traps to sway political campaigns, including Trump's digital efforts. Following these disclosures, the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) secured a warrant to search Cambridge Analytica’s servers. Facebook prohibited the firm from advertising due to deceptive conduct. The British High Court authorized ICO searches of Cambridge Analytica’s London premises, prompting Nix’s suspension and replacement by Julian Wheatland.

Data from up to 87 million Facebook users was harvested through an application developed by Aleksandr Kogan, a University of Cambridge lecturer. This app gathered personality profiles and accessed friends’ information, breaching Facebook's terms when this data was transferred to Cambridge Analytica. The company asserted possession of thousands of data points per individual and augmented this with information acquired from brokers, compiling extensive profiles on American citizens.

On May 1, 2018, both Cambridge Analytica and its parent firm SCL Group filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. Former director Alexander Tayler joined Emerdata, a new organization led by Rebekah Mercer, Jennifer Mercer, Alexander Nix, and Johnson Chun Shun Ko—individuals linked to American businessman Erik Prince. The Russo brothers are producing a film centered on Cambridge Analytica. In 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed charges against the company for improper data handling. By 2020, the ICO concluded its investigation without finding evidence implicating Cambridge Analytica in either the 2016 Brexit referendum or Russian interference during that campaign. Nevertheless, sensitive U.S. election data was reportedly passed to Russian intelligence through connections involving contractors associated with Cambridge Analytica.

SCL Group described itself as a "global election management agency," recognized for military disinformation operations and voter targeting primarily in developing countries. Investors included key Conservative Party donors such as billionaire Vincent Tchenguiz, former minister Jonathan Marland, family members of hedge fund manager Robert Mercer, and Steve Bannon—who divested his stake in 2017 due to his White House appointment. Mercer contributed at least $15 million to the firm.

Cambridge Analytica’s early activities depended on data acquired in 2014 from Global Science Research, founded by Aleksandr Kogan and his international team. During Boris Johnson’s period as UK Foreign Secretary, officials from the Foreign Office consulted with Cambridge Analytica executives; Johnson met with Alexander Nix in 2016.

Academic Emma Briant’s studies suggested that Cambridge Analytica supported the UK's Leave.EU Brexit campaign—a claim denied by the company itself. The ICO audited Leave.EU along with its financier Eldon Insurance for unlawful marketing practices involving repurposed data but ultimately found no proof linking SCL or Cambridge Analytica to either the EU referendum or Russian interference activities.

Aftermath

In the wake of Cambridge Analytica's dissolution, several new enterprises emerged, founded by former company leaders. In July 2018, a group of ex-employees established Auspex International, focusing on political and social influence campaigns across Africa and the Middle East. Another entity, Emerdata, exhibited substantial personnel overlap with Cambridge Analytica. Furthermore, Data Propria, launched in May 2018 and managed by previous Cambridge Analytica staff, has been associated with various political campaign activities.

A firm called Emic, created by personnel from the original SCL defence contractor, was reported in 2020 to be continuing governmental projects.

In December 2022, Meta Platforms consented to a $725 million settlement resolving a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of improperly sharing user information with Cambridge Analytica.

Methods

Cambridge Analytica’s approach to data analysis was grounded in techniques initially patented by Facebook. Although Facebook never publicly confirmed the precision of this method, it attracted academic attention from Michal Kosinski. Joining the Psychometrics Centre at Cambridge University in 2008, Kosinski developed a profiling system leveraging online data sources such as Facebook likes and smartphone data. His research revealed that analyzing a relatively small number of "likes" could produce more accurate personality assessments than those made by friends or family members, underscoring the effectiveness of targeted psychological profiling.

Psychological targeting entails extracting detailed psychological profiles from digital traces—such as Facebook Likes, Tweets, and credit card transactions—to influence individuals’ attitudes, emotions, or behaviors on a large scale. This process includes two key elements: (1) automated generation of psychological profiles from digital data and (2) interventions designed with psychological insights tailored to individual motivations. Studies in psychology, marketing, and health communication indicate that interventions customized to psychological characteristics achieve higher effectiveness.

Vast amounts of data are harvested from digital footprints—including Facebook accounts, Tweets, Google searches, and GPS sensors—providing insight into personal routines and preferences. Cambridge Analytica collected voter information from demographic details, consumer behaviors, online activity, and other sources. According to The Guardian, much of the psychological data used by CA originated from millions of Facebook users without their explicit consent. The "Cruz Crew" mobile app monitored physical locations and social contacts in ways reportedly more invasive than previous campaign applications.

The firm asserted it employed "data enhancement and audience segmentation techniques" to deliver "psychographic analysis," offering deeper understanding of target demographics. Utilizing the Big Five model, CA implemented "behavioral microtargeting" strategies to forecast individuals’ evolving "needs". This enabled the crafting of highly personalized messages for political clients, governments, and corporations aiming to engage critical audiences more effectively. As noted by Sasha Issenberg, CA’s insights could reveal aspects about people unknown even to themselves.

Much of CA’s personality profiling stemmed from continuous online survey efforts. For each political customer, voters were categorized into 32 distinct personality types assigned across the entire U.S. adult population. These classifications influenced the tone used in advertisements and voter outreach scripts; supplementary data informed positions on political issues.

Monthly polling refreshed information on political attitudes and media consumption patterns. Consumer-related surveys addressed brand interaction and product preferences, constructing comprehensive profiles detailing how individuals both shop and vote.

Channel 4 News investigation

The British public service programme Channel 4 News carried out an extensive four-month inquiry into Cambridge Analytica beginning in November 2017. An undercover journalist, posing as a prospective client seeking to assist Sri Lankan political candidates, gathered evidence. On 19 March 2018, video recordings were released revealing Cambridge Analytica executives boasting involvement in more than 200 electoral contests worldwide. In these recordings, Alexander Nix discussed company tactics, admitting to employing honey traps, bribery schemes, and prostitutes as tools for opposition research. For instance, Nix proposed undermining political rivals in Sri Lanka by producing compromising videos featuring "attractive Ukrainian women" and offering bribes regardless of acceptance. He also referred to utilizing "Israeli firms" for entrapment operations; this was a reference to Psy-Group, with which Cambridge Analytica signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2016.

Cambridge Analytica responded by asserting the footage had been "edited and scripted to grossly misrepresent" their business conduct. Nix claimed he was entertaining "absurd hypothetical scenarios" and denied any actual involvement in entrapment or bribery.

In the third installment of the series, Nix asserted that Cambridge Analytica "managed the entire digital campaign" for Trump, employing communication strategies designed to avoid leaving any incriminating trails. After the broadcast, the company's board suspended Nix from his role as CEO and appointed Julian Wheatland as interim leader. The firm issued a statement emphasizing that the allegations did not align with its ethical standards and announced it would conduct an independent review of Nix's remarks.

The investigation also brought up concerns regarding campaign finance regulations. During the 2016 election cycle, Cambridge Analytica provided services both to Trump's campaign and to Robert Mercer's Make America Number 1 Super PAC supporting Trump. Although PACs are allowed unlimited independent expenditures, coordination with campaigns is prohibited. Nix explained how Trump's campaign could maintain plausible deniability while negative messaging was handled by both the firm and the Super PAC in a manner described as "unattributable" and "untrackable," implying potential illegal coordination—a claim Cambridge Analytica denied.

Assessment of impact

Several political analysts have expressed doubt about Cambridge Analytica's assertions concerning the effectiveness of its microtargeting strategies on voters. They contend that digital data contributes only marginal insight beyond publicly available voter databases and that such data diminishes in value as voter preferences evolve over time. While research confirms personality traits can influence political leanings, accurately deducing political attitudes from personality remains problematic. Conversely, studies led by Stanford professor Michal Kosinski involving a sample of 3.5 million users suggest a notable effect.

Dartmouth researcher Brendan Nyhan has demonstrated that changing voter decisions is challenging because many individuals are firmly partisan; instead, mobilizing existing partisan voters is more feasible. This perspective aligns with Christopher Wylie's assertion that Cambridge Analytica focused on activating supporters likely to abstain and suppressing turnout among opposing voters. Tufts political scientist Eitan Hersh, an expert on microtargeting techniques, expressed strong skepticism regarding Cambridge Analytica’s claims and dismissed their psychographic approach as lacking credible evidence.

In 2017, Cambridge Analytica claimed to have developed psychological profiles for 220 million American citizens using data from 5,000 sources. However, The New York Times reported that the company overstated its capabilities; executives admitted psychographics were never employed during the Trump campaign. Trump campaign staff described Cambridge Analytica’s contribution as "modest," emphasizing that none of their efforts involved psychographic data.

A staff member from Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign revealed they discontinued working with Cambridge Analytica after its psychographic models failed to accurately identify probable Cruz supporters. The campaign terminated access to all Cambridge data following the 2016 South Carolina Republican primary on 20 February 2016, where Cruz finished third behind Trump and Rubio.

Privacy concerns and inquiries

The practice of utilizing personal data gathered without explicit permission to create comprehensive user personality profiles sparked considerable ethical and privacy debates. Cambridge Analytica operated out of the United States, where its methods would contravene Europe's more rigorous privacy law frameworks. Although CEO Alexander Nix claimed to support safeguarding personal information from government intrusion, CA’s database was often described as a tool for "political-voter surveillance."

CA asserted that Facebook users had provided consent upon registration, yet Facebook countered that "deceptive behavior or misuse of data" breached its terms. In 2015, Facebook initiated an investigation into these allegations. By March 2018, Facebook had suspended accounts linked to Strategic Communication Laboratories for failing to remove data collected improperly.

Nix maintained that collecting data and employing microtargeting techniques offered voters tailored messaging advantages. Conversely, digital rights advocates cautioned that personal details were harvested and disseminated without users’ awareness or control.

This controversy led to a $37 billion decline in Facebook’s market value by March 20, 2018, with trust in the platform plummeting to just 41% among users. Following this, the US Federal Trade Commission commenced a formal inquiry into Facebook’s privacy practices related to the exposure of data from 50 million users to Cambridge Analytica. In March 2019, Facebook admitted that concerns about CA’s "improper data-gathering practices" had arisen earlier than previously disclosed. By December 2019, the FTC filed a lawsuit against Cambridge Analytica and reached settlements with CEO Nix and app developer Aleksandr Kogan.

In 2020, the BBC reported that the group Facebook You Owe Us initiated legal action against Facebook in England and Wales for failing to safeguard nearly one million users’ personal information during the Cambridge Analytica incident.

Australia

Cambridge Analytica set up an office in Australia under Allan Lorraine, who was linked to Alexander Tayler and later served as a director at Emerdata. Lorraine established SCL (the parent company of Cambridge Analytica) within Australia. The company engaged with prominent political figures, including hosting a private dinner involving then-cybersecurity minister Dan Tehan and members of the Liberal Party. The name "Cambridge Analytica" was registered under the Lorraine Family Trust in June 2015, with SCL promoting Lorraine as head of operations in Australia. Alexander Nix participated as a speaker at an Australian conference focused on data-driven advertising and met with Liberal Party officials. Cambridge Analytica pursued both political and commercial ventures in Australia; its political operations managing director noted plans for expansion into Brazil, Australia, China, among other countries.

More than 310,000 Australian Facebook profiles were among those potentially subjected to unauthorized data sharing with Cambridge Analytica for political profiling.

India

Cambridge Analytica’s presence in India was through Strategic Communication Laboratories Private Limited, a subsidiary of its London-based parent company, the SCL Group, alongside Ovleno India. Whistleblower Christopher Wylie disclosed that SCL India participated in at least six state elections between 2003 and 2012, including the 2010 Bihar state elections and the 2009 national election. Wylie described CA’s involvement in Indian elections as neocolonial in nature. Both leading parties—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC)—denied employing SCL India while accusing each other of engagement. An INC representative conceded that meetings with the firm may have occurred, while SCL’s website listed the 2009 Bihar campaign among its projects. A BBC documentary segment showing an INC poster in former CEO Alexander Nix's office intensified speculation. Nevertheless, some CA executives including Nix contended their Indian operations were unsuccessful and alleged that project claims were exaggerated to obtain contracts. Co-founder Avneesh Rai challenged Wylie’s documents by stating they represented corporate advertising efforts rather than actual CA projects and accused partners and contractors of harboring an anti-INC bias. In early 2018, CA proposed a ₹25 million campaign plan aimed at the INC’s 2019 general election campaign; however, the party denied any financial dealings.

India was among the top ten countries impacted by the 2018 Cambridge Analytica data scandal. Although only 335 Indian Facebook users installed a CA-associated app, data from their friends’ networks exposed information on 562,455 individuals. Following these disclosures, Indian authorities took down SCL India’s website and launched official investigations.

Kenya

Cambridge Analytica (CA) operated discreetly throughout Kenya's 2013 and 2017 general elections. In 2018, a former CA staff member disclosed that an earlier employee had died in a Kenyan hotel while engaged with Uhuru Kenyatta's 2013 electoral campaign. CA asserted that it surveyed 47,000 Kenyan citizens in 2013 to examine political concerns, levels of trust in politicians, voter behavior patterns, and communication channels. Credible reports reveal that CA partnered with 360 Media, an agency established by Simon Gicharu (Mount Kenya University) and Tom Mshindi (Nation Media Group). For the 2017 polls, 360 Media developed digital campaigns that cast Raila Odinga in a negative light—portraying him as sympathetic to Al-Shabaab and lacking developmental policies—while presenting incumbent President Kenyatta as a strong figure against terrorism and advantageous for the economy.

After the 2018 disclosures regarding CA's role in Kenya, opposition figures demanded formal inquiries. Norman Magaya from the National Super Alliance accused both CA and the Jubilee Party of illicit activities. The Jubilee Party downplayed CA’s participation, stating that only the firm's parent company was hired for branding-related services.

Malta

The UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, during its 2018 Disinformation investigation, reported that CA or its affiliates allegedly collaborated with Malta’s Labour Party during the 2013 general elections. Sources indicate close connections between CA and Henley & Partners, which later introduced a lucrative Citizenship by Investment Program in Malta. The Maltese Government refuted these allegations, dismissing the report and sources as "fake news," while Henley & Partners denied any official association with CA.

The Committee’s Final Report released in February 2019 acknowledged Malta’s responses but confirmed evidence that SCL held meetings on Maltese soil, facilitated an introduction between Christian Kalin of Henley & Partners and Joseph Muscat in 2011, and noted that Kalin met with representatives from both major political parties prior to 2013. Subsequently, the Maltese Government issued another denial criticizing reliance on "unnamed sources" and "confidential documents."

Mexico

In the aftermath of the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Forbes cited British broadcaster Channel 4 News as revealing ties between Cambridge Analytica and Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), suggesting a comparable operational approach to that used in the U.S. According to Channel 4’s Guillermo Galdos, CA maintained collaboration with the PRI until at least January 2018. An official investigation was called for.

In 2017, Cambridge Analytica approached the PRI offering assistance for its presidential bid in the 2018 Mexican general elections. Although the PRI believed it could conduct its campaign independently, it still compensated Cambridge Analytica to prevent the firm from working with competing parties.

United Kingdom

Several donors linked to the UK Conservative Party have reportedly had associations with Cambridge Analytica’s parent company.

Cambridge Analytica played a role in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum (Brexit), focusing on persuadable voters to back leaving the European Union (EU). Investigative articles by Carole Cadwalladr published in The Observer and The Guardian during 2017 suggested that CA influenced both the Brexit campaign and Trump’s 2016 US presidential run, with financial support from Robert Mercer being pivotal. Questions arose about the legality of using harvested social media data. CA initiated legal proceedings against these allegations.

No monetary donations from CA were recorded by UK electoral regulators, and both CA and Leave.EU refused to comment on any services provided pro bono or otherwise. In March 2018, former CA business development director Brittany Kaiser admitted that the company misled Members of Parliament regarding its involvement with Leave.EU and data analysis connected to the UK Independence Party (UKIP), confessing she felt complicit in denying any paid or unpaid work for Leave.EU. The firm asserted it had capabilities to sway referendum results, producing a document titled "Big Data Solutions for the EU Referendum" outlining voter targeting methods.

In a 2019 interview, Kaiser cautioned that democratic processes remain susceptible to manipulation by organizations like CA, warning that social media users are no better safeguarded than they were during 2016.

At a committee hearing in March 2018, Christopher Wylie testified that AggregateIQ—a company linked to CA—assisted the official Vote Leave campaign in circumventing campaign finance regulations during Brexit.

United States

Laurence Levy, an attorney at Bracewell & Giuliani, provided legal counsel to Rebekah Mercer, Steve Bannon, and Alexander Nix regarding Cambridge Analytica's role in Elections in the United States. He cautioned that Nix, along with any foreign nationals lacking a green card, should refrain from participating in decision-making positions connected to U.S. electoral activities. Levy also advised Nix to withdraw from involvement in U.S. election operations due to his non-citizen status.

2014 midterm elections

Cambridge Analytica established its presence in the U.S. market between 2012 and 2013, engaging in 44 races spanning congressional, Senate, and state-level contests during the 2014 midterm elections.

The company partnered with the John Bolton Super PAC to execute digital and television campaigns focused on Senate elections in Arkansas, North Carolina, and New Hampshire, supporting Republican contenders. Of the candidates supported by this PAC, Thom Tillis (NC) and Tom Cotton (AR) secured Senate seats, whereas Scott Brown was unsuccessful in New Hampshire. The PAC primarily disseminated TV advertisements online and targeted viewers through Dish Network and DirecTV, promoting Bolton’s national security platform.

Cambridge Analytica contributed to Tillis’s victorious effort to defeat Senator Kay Hagan by identifying voter groups with a strong interest in foreign policy issues, which led to a strategic adjustment in campaign messaging. For these services, Tillis’s campaign and the North Carolina Republican Party compensated CA $345,000.

In 2014, the firm deployed numerous advisors who were not U.S. citizens to assist Republican candidates, exposing itself to potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act for failing to register as foreign agents with the United States Department of Justice.

2016 presidential election

Cambridge Analytica’s participation in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries became public knowledge in July 2015. By December of that year, CA asserted it had amassed up to 5,000 data points on more than 220 million Americans. During this period, Robert Mercer was a key financial backer of Ted Cruz, providing funding directly to CA as well as indirectly through various super-PACs and Cruz’s campaign organization.

Ted Cruz was among CA’s earliest significant clients during the 2016 election cycle. Ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Cruz’s team invested $3 million in CA’s services, supplemented by additional contributions from allied Super-PACs. Following Cruz’s Iowa victory, CA received credit for identifying and mobilizing potential voters. Ultimately, Cruz’s campaign allocated $5.8 million for CA’s support.

The campaign of Ben Carson paid $220,000 for CA’s "data management" and "web service," while Rubio’s campaign received assistance from Optimus Consulting. Governor John Kasich was supported by a competing firm, Applecart.

After Cruz exited the race in May 2016, Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah redirected their support toward Donald Trump. Cambridge Analytica followed suit and collaborated with Trump’s presidential campaign alongside digital firm Giles Parscale. In September 2016, Trump’s campaign expended $5 million on television advertisements.

During the primaries and summer of 2016, Trump’s team utilized CA due to uncertainties surrounding voter data access from the Republican National Committee. Once Trump secured the nomination, Jared Kushner and Brad Parscale decided to rely exclusively on RNC data for the general election, deeming it more reliable than vendor-supplied information.

In 2016, CA asserted it did not employ psychographic techniques in Trump’s campaign but rather targeted voters with customized messages. Alexander Tayler, CA’s head of data science, attributed Trump’s Electoral College win—despite losing the popular vote by three million—to data-driven research efforts.

CA’s leadership claimed they requested assistance from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to locate Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails.

On 18 May 2017, Time reported that the US Congress was investigating Cambridge Analytica for possible coordination in disseminating Russian propaganda through microtargeting strategies. The Trump campaign’s digital director stated that CA collaborated closely with Facebook, Alphabet Inc., and Twitter on digital initiatives.

On 4 August 2017, Michael Flynn amended a financial disclosure to reveal an advisory role with CA during Trump’s campaign amid inquiries into his Russian connections.

On 8 October 2017, Brad Parscale discussed employing Facebook advertising to target individual voters in battleground states during a 60 Minutes interview. While acknowledging hiring CA for microtargeting—which they claimed was instrumental in Trump’s victory—Parscale denied utilizing their psychographic methods or having any ties to Russia. He also noted that Clinton's campaign declined similar platform assistance.

On 25 October 2017, Julian Assange confirmed declining an approach from Cambridge Analytica following reports that CEO Alexander Nix proposed cooperating with WikiLeaks to recover deleted Clinton emails. CNN reported Nix intended to develop a searchable database of publicly available Clinton email archives for use by the campaign or pro-Trump PACs.

On 14 December 2017, special counsel Robert Mueller requested emails from Cambridge Analytica employees involved with the Trump campaign as part of his probe into Russian interference.

In 2018 disclosures revealed that Cambridge Analytica had improperly accessed personal information from over 50 million Facebook users during Trump's election effort. The Times of Israel reported that CA utilized "intelligence gathering" services from British and Israeli firms aimed at influencing election outcomes favorably toward Trump.

A collaborative investigation by journalists from TheMarker, Radio France, and Haaretz uncovered links between Israeli businessman Tal Hanan—known as Jorge—and Cambridge Analytica as well as Alexander Nix through leaked emails. These communications revealed associations with an organization claiming expertise in election influence operations.

International involvement

In 2018, Cambridge Analytica's leadership revealed that the firm had participated in more than 200 electoral contests globally. Their activities spanned countries such as India, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, where they supported Prime Minister Najib Razak's Barisan Nasional coalition. Other nations included Colombia, Cyprus, Zambia, South Africa, Romania, Italy, Lithuania, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nigeria during its 2015 presidential race, as well as the Czech Republic and Argentina. Investigations uncovered that a major Italian political party had approached the company for assistance with campaign strategies, though the party’s identity was kept confidential.

In the case of the Philippines, Cambridge Analytica is reported to have played a role in the 2016 presidential race, supporting the campaign of Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte’s team refuted claims of collaboration. The parent organization, the SCL Group, asserted that it had been instrumental in reshaping Duterte’s public image to resonate with voters who valued strength and decisiveness. Facebook later acknowledged that data from upwards of one million Filipino users had been improperly accessed by Cambridge Analytica during this timeframe.

Whistleblower Brittany Kaiser, in 2020, alleged that former Philippine Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr engaged Cambridge Analytica for a family image "rebranding" initiative.

On 4 January 2020, an anonymous Twitter account named @HindsightFiles published over 100,000 documents exposing Cambridge Analytica’s operations across 68 countries. These records detailed a worldwide network engineered for extensive voter influence campaigns, covering elections in Malaysia, Kenya, and Brazil. The source material was drawn from Brittany Kaiser’s email archives and hard drives.

External links

Archived version of the official site
Investigative series: The Cambridge Analytica Files, published by The Observer and The Guardian, beginning March 2018
Data, Democracy and Dirty Tricks, report by Channel 4