Congress 'hand' in Cambridge Analytica office gives tell-tale proof of link

Just a few days after whistleblower Christopher Wylie blew the lid on how Cambridge Analytica — the firm accused of misusing Facebook data to influence US elections — worked with India's main opposition party, Congress, a documentary released by a journalist now offers further proof of the connection.

The latest revelations make it even more difficult for Congress to deny the link with the controversial firm and can be even more damaging as the party had gone on the offensive by first alleging a link between the firm and the ruling BJP. 

Tech blogger Jamie Bartlett had made a two-part documentary movie for the BBC, called Secrets of the Silicon Valley in 2017. The first part of the movie is called The Disruptors and the second part is called The Persuasion Machine.

In the later part, Bartlett is seen meeting the firm's suspended CEO, Alexander Nix.

In the clip, which was shared by Bartlett, a poster with the 'hand' symbol of the Congress party can be seen on the wall behind Nix. In the poster, the word "Congress" is written in bold letters, along with a slogan saying 'Development for all.'

Bartlett also tweeted that the poster was not photoshopped.

"And I can confirm this is NOT a photoshop. I was in the room, and I remember it. Here's another shot, it's hanging up in Nix's office, front and center. This screengrab taken from my version of the doc," the tweet said.

Congress is already struggling to disassociate itself from the allegations made by Wylie and now Bartlett's tweets have lodged Congress in an even deeper pit.

After Wylie revealed before a British parliamentary committee March 27 that Congress is one of the clients of Cambridge Analytica in India, the party had drawn condemnation from BJP.

BJP also demanded an apology from Congress for the allegations that the latter made against the ruling party connecting it to Cambridge Analytica.

Now, BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani has taken a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi.