More insight into Facebook's anti-Democracy treachery

[luv2fly]

New whistleblower claims Facebook allowed hate, illegal activity to go unchecked

By Craig Timberg

A new whistleblower affidavit submitted by a former Facebook employee Friday alleges that the company prizes growth and profits over combating hate speech, misinformation and other threats to the public, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Washington Post.

The whistleblower’s allegations, which were declared under penalty of perjury and shared with The Post on the condition of anonymity, echoed many of those made by Frances Haugen, another former Facebook employee whose scathing testimony before Congress this month intensified bipartisan calls for federal action against the company. Haugen, like the new whistleblower, also made allegations to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees publicly traded companies.

The new whistleblower is a former member of Facebook’s Integrity team whose identity is known to The Post and who agreed to be interviewed about the issues raised in the legal filing. Perhaps the most vivid moment in the affidavit comes in a direct quote the whistleblower reported hearing from a top Facebook communications official during the controversy following Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The whistleblower’s name is redacted in the affidavit.

*snip*

The whistleblower told The Post of an occasion in which Facebook’s Public Policy team, led by former Bush administration official Joel Kaplan, defended a “white list” that exempted Trump-aligned Breitbart News, run then by former White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon, and other select publishers from Facebook’s ordinary rules against spreading false news reports.

More at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/22/facebook-new-whistleblower-complaint/

[Carlitos Brigante]

1. K&R! nt

[dalton99a]

2. Republicans were guaranteed a right to spread lies and incite hatred.

[KS Toronado]

14. My thoughts exactly

I've been kicked off facebook 3 times for suspicious activity, my activity was only posting on Democratic
forums, makes me think they had a "black" list also. Haven't done it in 5 years now.

[mopinko]

3. a white list. cute.

[NJCher]

4. People here noticed this

It was commented on.

I recall not being able to relate to it because I don’t do Facebook.

[usaf-vet]

6. Actually, it is Facebook "doing" us through their lies and subterfuge...

...bending the facts to benefit their bottom line the hell with our Democracy.

[dalton99a]

7. +1. Zuckerberg should be named MVP in the insurrection

[NJCher]

8. I think you're right

I would have more correctly said that I don't allow Facebook to do me.

[usaf-vet]

10. That would probably be more accurate. I have to admit the I use Facebook only to stay connected to..

... family. And then maybe only a once-a-week check-in.

[eggplant]

12. It's a standard technical term.

The industry is trying to replace it, but blacklist/whitelist have been around for a long time. Its use here does not in itself imply racism. Everything else does, of course.

[mopinko]

13. yup.

[2naSalit]

5. K&R

[FakeNoose]

9. Chump was one of the biggest advertisers on FB during the 2016 presidential campaign

He spent so much dough on Facebook that he was always the elephant in the room. Part of Hillary's downfall came from ignoring the social media presence and manipulation of the Chump campaign. But that's old news, The story now is that Chump and his toadies got everything they wanted on Facebook - before and after he was elected.

[Orrex]

11. I'm currently in FB jail because I told someone I didn't believe he was sincere

And because I referred to his “silliness.”

This was deemed harassment and my appeal was rejected.

I add that the person I was addressing had already insulted me and usd abusive language toward others, and he routinely posts objectively false medical information, yet his posts are never hidden nor is he jailed.

FB has a proven and demonstrable bias at the corporate level and also at the level of individual interaction.

I would like to be able to pretend that FB can be readily abandoned without negative consequences to personal or professional interactions, but alas that’s not the case.

[seta1950]

15. This is why

I think social media needs to be regulated and fined when necessary, they are an American company, yet the safety of our country’s democracy doesn’t seem to matter to them, because they are getting rich, greed by the super rich is destroying us.

[luv2fly]

16. Yes but what is Facebook if not its users?

No users no Facebook.