Cambridge Analytica Founder Alexander Nix Abruptly Cancels Controversial Cannes Appearance

Makers of Netflix documentary to screen film the same day

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Alexander Nix, co-founder of defunct polling firm Cambridge Analytica who had been scheduled to speak at Cannes on Thursday evening, has pulled out of the event after controversy over his appearance reached a boiling point.

A spokesperson for the festival confirmed that Nix canceled approximately 24 hours before the event. The news came after reports that the makers of The Great Hack, a forthcoming Netflix documentary about the company and the controversy surrounding a breach that exposed the personal data of more than 80 million Facebook users in the run-up to the 2016 election, had planned a special screening of their film on the same day Nix would join a panel moderated by Financial Times U.S.

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