Facebook’s bad behavior – updated 11/16/18

Great investigation by the New York Times

As Facebook’s disinformation and privacy challenges rose, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg obscured warnings and tapped Washington lobbyists to deflect criticism, according to interviews with over 50 people https://t.co/m0poTQLAqI

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 14, 2018

Notice they said it was "unfair," not false https://t.co/dw2aZqpfgG

— Astead (@AsteadWesley) November 15, 2018

update 11/16

Alex Stamos. Facebook's former chief security officer, writes for The Post: "Yes, Facebook made mistakes in 2016. But we weren’t the only ones." https://t.co/vpeiTRzj0B

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 17, 2018

Firm that worked for Facebook tried to plant a story alleging liberal bias at Apple News https://t.co/bgz36a3qm5 pic.twitter.com/llxETZTB7l

— CNN (@CNN) November 16, 2018

This is pretty disturbing. At the same time that Facebook was publicly professing their desire to work with the Intel committee, they were paying a political opposition research firm to privately attempt to undermine the committee’s credibility. https://t.co/XEe4udZgny

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) November 16, 2018

Democrat @SenSchumer tried to bully a fellow senator to “back off” from investigating Facebook, where his daughter works, and which gives him more money than any other member of Congress. Why isn’t this a bigger story? asks @mehdirhasan. https://t.co/FzWNKWKAd8

— The Intercept (@theintercept) November 16, 2018

We did a no surprises call with Facebook before the story was published. It’s a basic (good) journalistic practice in which you let a company or person know a story is coming, and give them a chance to respond…. Facebook only fired Definers after the story came out. https://t.co/5pLvIylGCC

— Sheera Frenkel (@sheeraf) November 15, 2018

My letter to @facebook regarding the smear campaign they paid for and disseminated against George Soros & @OpenSociety as reported by @nickconfessore in the @nytimes. These tactics out of Putin’s playbook have no place in an important debate about the integrity of our elections pic.twitter.com/jF9RhC5vSy

— Patrick Gaspard (@patrickgaspard) November 15, 2018

Facebook accuses its critics of anti-semitism while deploying anti-semitism against its critics. Where have I seen this before? pic.twitter.com/WJPowmDICz

— Paul Blumenthal (@PaulBlu) November 15, 2018

The New York Times exposed extraordinary details about Facebook’s inner workings: https://t.co/4MAISooKBx pic.twitter.com/4BcMNrwfIe

— CJR (@CJR) November 15, 2018

Facebook has fired consultants in response to a damning New York Times reporthttps://t.co/4GcJbecSYK

— POLITICO (@politico) November 15, 2018

On Wednesday, @nytimes published a blockbuster—five byline, 50 source, 5,000 word—report on the failures of Facebook’s management team during the past three years. You should read it. These are six follow-up questions we feel merit additional investigation https://t.co/rtJEMMT2Pg

— WIRED (@WIRED) November 15, 2018

Opinion: It’s time to start regulating Facebook https://t.co/6BKCCceUJA

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 15, 2018

Facebook is a normal sleazy company now: https://t.co/2rFsTzPFq9 pic.twitter.com/F6yCFlSXHu

— Slate (@Slate) November 15, 2018

Most upsetting – even Facebook execs stoked anti-Semitic dog whistle to silence critics:
“Facebook employed a Republican opposition-research firm to discredit activist protesters, in part by linking them to the liberal financier George Soros.” https://t.co/maLhHCZcHv

— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) November 15, 2018

Facebook has fired a conservative public relations firm that was, among other work, digging up dirt on its competitors https://t.co/WmXyteQySp pic.twitter.com/4kccU67AcQ

— CNN (@CNN) November 15, 2018

NYT: Over and over, Facebook made key decisions with huge implications for the country and the world because their public policy exec was afraid the alternative would trigger conservative backlash. (Former Bush official, same guy who sat behind Kavanaugh) https://t.co/XHgJiHq8Bl pic.twitter.com/QsZwltmxcc

— Hamza Shaban (@hshaban) November 15, 2018

Mark Zuckerberg promised Congress he would work to stop the spread of conspiracy theories on Facebook—while his company was doing the opposite. https://t.co/gZOnmXclN7 pic.twitter.com/DbvCUXOlcm

— The New Republic (@newrepublic) November 15, 2018

A reminder that Sheryl Sandberg was widely being floated as Treasury Secretary if Hillary Clinton had won in the month leading up to the election: https://t.co/DCHtYiD2zr

— Mike Konczal (@rortybomb) November 15, 2018

update 11/16/18

“The revelations may be ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back,’ said Rishad Tobaccowala, chief growth officer for the Publicis Groupe. ‘Now we know Facebook will do whatever it takes to make money. They have absolutely no morals.’” advertisers sound off: https://t.co/L0poeqeKWD

— Sapna Maheshwari (@sapna) November 16, 2018

Democrats represent the growing modern economy

Democrats represent the growing areas but they still do more to look out for poor people than Republicans do.

The American dream is alive and well for some Americans, but largely out of reach for others – and economists are increasingly worried about the effect of geographic disparities for the country as a whole https://t.co/oHuAyKzYhU

— POLITICO (@politico) January 1, 2019

America’s political-ec disconnect continues: A GOP Senate majority oriented to rural and “traditional” industries stands ready to block efforts to bolster the nation’s growing urban and suburban “knowledge” economy.

See piece below & @JohnJHarwood @ThePlumLineGS @RonBrownstein https://t.co/Q53Qd9EaSJ

— Mark Muro (@MarkMuro1) November 26, 2018

Wow. I knew that there was a correlation between growing regional disparities and politics, but this is getting really stark. Dem districts radically more successful than R https://t.co/ReI8ZhlalE

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 15, 2018

“Clinton won far fewer counties than Trump — she cleaned up in the more populous counties. But Clinton counties produced almost two-thirds of the country’s new jobs and nearly three-fourths of its economic growth in recent years.” https://t.co/YHJ41GvEWB

— Brandon (@redrummage) March 7, 2018

The 1/6th of counties Clinton won did account for 2/3 of GDP in 16. Both parties need to compete everywhere but given overlap between acceptance of eco & cultural change, future D gains more likely to come in the metro places ok w/change on both fronts than in those uneasy w/both https://t.co/DeLLJPFtIc

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) March 13, 2018

The coalition of transformation continues to drive the forward edge of economic innovation. Similar to Clinton counties representing 2/3 of GDP in 2016, though only 1/6 of all US counties. https://t.co/KXiyYTEx9V

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) November 15, 2018

It’s wrong for media to describe blue metro America as the bubble. Measured by economic output, racial & religious diversity, transition to Information Age, it is more reflective of what 21st century America is becoming than the non-metro places that have drawn so much coverage. https://t.co/7aBn1ofMzL

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) November 19, 2018

“… the most prosperous 20 percent of U.S. Zip codes account for the entire net increase in employment over that period. Across the remaining 80 percent of the United States, fewer jobs exist now than in 2007.” https://t.co/KV3My7KoHz

— Jenna Johnson (@Jenna_DC) December 6, 2018

Trump’s lies about voter fraud get worse

"The president has sworn to uphold the right to vote … It is an abrogation of this responsibility to make up stories intended to convince citizens of the meaninglessness of their voting rights," writes Bob Bauer: https://t.co/H1tdvFzWoW

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) November 25, 2018

“There’s no evidence of this” is the nicest thing one can say about what sounds like a fever dream https://t.co/wNwmfgBsAS

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 14, 2018

There's no evidence of this. Courts in Florida have also found no evidence of abuse. https://t.co/GFprjnWTM5

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 14, 2018

The only quote of interest in this interview is that Trump thinks you need voter id to buy cereal. The rest is just rambling conspiracies about voter fraud.https://t.co/msq30ASH60

— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) November 14, 2018

Trump returns to his dangerous lying about elections, makes up story about massive voter fraud he says has cost the Republicans victories…and falsely adds that you need a "voter ID" to buy cereal. (The Daily Caller, of course, just printed all of this, because it's horrific.) pic.twitter.com/NB0LcYRhXY

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 14, 2018

Trump also did his most specific lying about Florida, making up a story about how Broward County has inserted fraudulent ballots into the pool of legit ballots so now you can't tell which is which. The Daily Caller is such trash that it doesn't even hint this might not be true. pic.twitter.com/SCxPAIFlpy

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 14, 2018

That thumping sound you hear is from election officials' heads hitting their desks https://t.co/3D9pMDbX75 pic.twitter.com/j7ocsOrQAo

— Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) November 14, 2018

"President Trump believes the number one problem we face is voter fraud," @JohnAvlon reports in his #RealityCheck.

"Armed with a complete absence of evidence, it's a point he's hit over and over again … but repeating a lie doesn't make it true."https://t.co/iJe7s0LtcR pic.twitter.com/z9GMLVu6IL

— New Day (@NewDay) November 16, 2018

NRA-supported candidates lost to gun safety candidates

The actual number is $1,253,000, which was the combined total spent supporting Marsha Blackburn and attacking opponent Phil Bredesen during the Tennessee US Senate race. See more here (via @teamtrace): https://t.co/eOikbqYgs3

— Adam Best (@adamcbest) November 8, 2018

Critical factor. The modern suburban Republicans voted in lockstep with the NRA, in contrast with their counterparts in the 1990s, many of whom backed Clinton on gun measures. That caught up with them this year https://t.co/gG5WJ0sRLK

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) November 9, 2018

You wanna know how the politics of guns has changed?

The #NR8 campaign raised $1 million for 8 swing races where:

(a) incumbent Republican was A rated by NRA
(b) Dem candidate ran strong on anti-gun violence message

With Harder’s win, all 8 of the NR8 candidates won https://t.co/jOgRWBg1OS

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) November 14, 2018

The NRA—for decades one of the country’s most formidable electoral machines—suffered a major breakdown at the ballot box on Nov. 6. In race after race, Republican candidates w/ NRA grades of A or A+ lost to Democrats who ran hard on gun-safety credentials. https://t.co/nwKWzxxpIY

— Everytown (@Everytown) November 14, 2018

The NRA spent $25 million in 2014—the last midterm election—and nearly double that figure in 2016. But in the 2018 cycle, the group has spent a paltry $4.9 million.

With just 4 weeks til election day, @dnlnss digs into NRA spending: https://t.co/McHqzPznOv pic.twitter.com/CdLIrrHGCU

— The Trace (@teamtrace) October 10, 2018

The NRA doesn’t care about the black security guard in Chicago who was killed

It doesn’t seem that they defend black people who legally use guns. This man was a hero.

Not surprisingly the @NRA never defends the rights of law abiding innocent Black men like Castile who were viciously gunned down. https://t.co/LbGBXcne2O

— Karen Finney (@finneyk) January 22, 2019

The NRA doesn’t care about black heroes: Jemel Roberson was “the good guy with a gun” https://t.co/quXJahAOXh

— Salon (@Salon) November 13, 2018

Factual not rhetorical question: Has the NRA made any sort of statement regarding the death of Jemel Roberson here in south Chicagoland? https://t.co/goosSkGJ81

— Harold Pollack (@haroldpollack) November 14, 2018

They didn’t defend Philandro Castile either.

The NRA’s internal split over Philandro Castile

update 11/17/18

Can't agree more with @jimantle on this. This is a test for gun-rights activists. https://t.co/Fne4BW7sQC

— Jeff B. (@EsotericCD) November 16, 2018

The NRA is for white people. Period. https://t.co/sq8XYm1pjH

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) November 17, 2018

update 11/24/18

Which Americans support the Second Amendment? The answer depends on whether whites or blacks have the guns.

The NRA told doctors to stay in their lane

Doctors fought back.

Doctors flooded the NRA with stories and photos about treating gunshot victims after the gun rights group tweeted, “Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane” https://t.co/tsR9MAl1Pn

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) November 14, 2018

“Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isn’t just my lane. It’s my f— highway,” San Francisco forensic pathologist Judy Melinek told the @NRA
https://t.co/c43TAloEJf #Enough

— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) November 14, 2018

After NRA Mocks Doctors, Physicians Reply: 'This Is Our Lane' https://t.co/NB66evcT3D

— NPR Health News (@NPRHealth) November 11, 2018

Doctors share gun stories and demand action after the NRA tweets that "someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane" https://t.co/Uso74FXl37 pic.twitter.com/4jaKHLhsUN

— CNN (@CNN) November 9, 2018

After the NRA told doctors “to stay in their lane,” a forensic pathologist responded: “Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isn’t just my lane. It’s my [expletive] highway.” https://t.co/nZsvOotVJK

— Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) November 12, 2018

I fix blood vessels for a living. When you work at a major trauma center, that means fixing blood vessels shredded by bullets. My lane is paved by the broken bodies left behind by your products. #ThisisMyLane https://t.co/IzezudNBUf

— Westley Ohman (@westleyohman) November 9, 2018

We do examine assholes all day so it does make us an expert on them. You qualify https://t.co/yRQTZnGqQr

— Cathleen London MD (@DrChaya) November 11, 2018

Hi, Satan! I'm an ER doc. If you add up every gummy bear, cue ball, or copy of your shitty books Ive pulled out of orifices, it doesnt even approach the number of moms Ive had to tell their kids are dead from guns. Stick w/the xenophobia+racism youre so good at and GTFO our lane. https://t.co/HaAH2ZNXhR

— Rick Pescatore, DO (@Rick_Pescatore) November 10, 2018

Hey @NRA ! Wanna see my lane? Here’s the chair I sit in when I tell parents their kids are dead. How dare you tell me I can’t research evidence based solutions. #ThisISMyLane #ThisIsOurLane #thequietroom pic.twitter.com/y7tBAuje8O

— Stephanie Bonne (@scrubbedin) November 9, 2018

For a group that talks an awful lot about personal freedom, the NRA goes to shocking lengths to discredit the speech of anyone who disagrees with them.https://t.co/Nu9jztmL0f

— Matthew Rozsa (@MatthewRozsa) November 12, 2018

Excellent tweet about Nancy Pelosi

Republican attacks have made her unpopular

Lately, I've been asking people why they dislike Pelosi. Turns out, most people don't know WHY they hate her, they just do. It seems lost on them that the reason they hate her is a decade of negative attacks by the GOP. It's very similar to HRC. https://t.co/D0OjHUyYRq

— Rachel Bitecofer 📈🔭🗿💪 (@RachelBitecofer) November 14, 2018

Trump’s record cabinet turnover

"I will be making changes on various things.” — Donald Trumphttps://t.co/SPFJ7VJHZU

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) November 14, 2018

9 Cabinet officials left in Obama's entire first term.

Same as have left Trump administration in less than 2 years https://t.co/2OkE6iqh8Y

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) November 14, 2018

In George W. Bush's first 4 years in office, 4 Cabinet members left.

In less than 2 years, 9 Trump Cabinet officials have left.https://t.co/tYGDDnbhZ5

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) November 14, 2018

Kelly as the "adult in the room" was always a myth. He's a bigot who hurt citizens — including veterans and military widows — acted as a supplicant to an aspiring autocrat, and disgraced our country. https://t.co/UIPNUOkBIF

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) November 13, 2018

Republicans will do anything to win

This is an excellent column. We saw this in 2000 when the Florida recount was stopped. From the column:

“A better way to put it is that when the 2000 election was thrown into chaos in Florida, Democrats operated under the mistaken belief that there was an orderly process to be undertaken and eventually it would all get sorted out fairly. Meanwhile, Republicans were all but crawling through the Okefenokee with knives in their teeth. Republicans knew that there were no rules that needed to be obeyed and no niceties that needed to be considered. All that mattered was winning, and the winner would be the one who was more ruthless and determined.”

We’re seeing it again now with the Republicans baseless claims of fraud in Florida and Georgia. Trump is the ringleader. Republicans don’t care how much damage this does to public confidence in the elections, they just want to win. They should just let the legal election process play out.

Once again, Republicans are showing how willing and eager they are to tear down the electoral system if that's what it takes to win: https://t.co/Je2oLyr2zb

— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman1) November 13, 2018

The legacy of country music

"Country contains the great and conflicted story of America, complete with all the possibility and the garbage that word implies."

https://t.co/h8bg5dKgaW

— Literary Hub (@lithub) November 14, 2018