14 May 2019

Channel 4 News wins Bafta for Cambridge Analytica investigation

Undercover filming revealed how the company secretly campaigns in elections across the world.

Channel 4 News’s undercover investigation into Cambridge Analytica has been awarded a Bafta for Best News Coverage.

The investigation revealed how the company secretly campaigns in elections across the world. Bosses were filmed talking about using bribes, ex-spies, fake IDs and sex workers.

Cambridge Analytica also claimed it ran “all” of President Trump’s digital campaign.

And a whistleblower from the company revealed to Channel 4 News – in partnership with the Observer – that the British data firm was also behind a “data grab” of more than 50m Facebook profiles.

The investigation sparked inquiries in the UK and US, while Cambridge Analytica’s chief executive was suspended.

Accepting the Bafta last night, Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear said: “It’s a great honour to win a Bafta – especially for this story that took a monumental amount of effort.”

He added: “I know that Facebook say that they are doing whatever they can to protect people’s data so that it can’t be manipulated by bad actors, bad countries, by companies like Cambridge Analytica. We still await to see if that’s the case.”

Channel 4 News’s undercover investigation into Cambridge Analytica has been recognised on multiple occasions including with two Royal Television Society awards and a prestigious Peabody Award.