Wow.

So we talked this weekend about the Steve Bannon-and-Russia-connected firm Cambridge Analytica, and how they basically mined Facebook for information on voters to target for Donald Trump – in violation of the platform’s policies – in the lead up to the 2016 election.

Since then, Facebook has suspended both the firm, as well as the whistleblower who let the cat out of the bag.

The latest is even more shocking, as we’re seeing just how low this company is willing to go.

They’ve apparently been embroiled in a battle to stop a report that sheds a harsh light on their practices, with the first part of the report dropping on YouTube today.

In the video, CA’s CEO, Alexander Nix, as well as other officials with the company can be seen discussing the ways they entrap or bribe politicians, before using social media to attack or demean the character of their targets.

From Mediaite:

Nix was filmed saying that in an effort to dig up dirt on a political opponent, the company could “send some girls around to the candidate’s house.” He noted that the Ukranian sex workers they’d use “are very beautiful, I find that works very well.”

He was also recorded stating they’d offer marks a “large amount of money” and record the conversation so that it could be used on the internet later.

The network responsible for the video sent an undercover reporter in, posing as a “fixer,” looking to help get particular candidates elected. The videos were filmed from November 2017 to January 2018.

Another executive, CA Political Global’s managing director Mark Turnbull, discussed how Cambridge Analytica could use some of this information it has obtained and spread it out via social media. Stating they just “put information into the bloodstream of the internet” and “give it a little push every now and then.”

“It has to happen without anyone thinking, ‘That’s propaganda’,” Turnbull said. “Because the moment you think ‘that’s propaganda’, the next question is, ‘who’s put that out?’.”

Well, the running opinion has been: Russian bots, but it looks like these guys are engaged in a bit more than just the meme and hashtag pushing.

In a response to the bombshell video, a spokesperson for the video gave this statement:

“We entirely refute any allegation that Cambridge Analytica or any of its affiliates use entrapment, bribes, or so-called “honey-traps” for any purpose whatsoever… We routinely undertake conversations with prospective clients to try to tease out any unethical or illegal intentions…”

You can watch the 19 minute video here, where Nix speaks about not only those “honey traps,” but also about the “persuadable” voters targeted for Trump.

Channel 4, the network behind this video, says there will be more video coming on Tuesday that explores the work done by Cambridge Analytica in the United States.