Facebook’s PR Tactics Come to Light as Company’s Problems & Public Backlash Continue

“Delay, Deny and Deflect.” Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal escalated this week after The New York Times chronicled the company’s two-faced approach towards its never-ending streams of crises.  The extensive investigation, sourced by interviews with more than 50 people, shows how as Mr. Zuckerberg was on his much-ballyhooed public relations apology tour, COO Cheryl Sandberg worked behind the scenes to lambast executives willing to speak up concerning Facebook’s issues and discredit those who publicly opposed the company. It portrayed Mr. Zuckerberg and Ms. Sandberg as hell-bent on company growth and profit above all else, ignoring warning signs, concealing issues from the public and delegating important decisions to subordinates rather than taking personal responsibility. 

To the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) this is continued validation of Facebook’s extensive and troubling pattern of behavior. Like any other business, Facebook is driven by market share and profits – any characterization otherwise is plainly false. In CEP’s own efforts to engage with Facebook concerning the removal of extremist content from its platform, there have only been empty apologies and half-hearted commitments to do more. All evidence points to Facebook’s continued reckless and dangerous conduct as illustrated by the spin tactics and millions spent lobbying after former security chief Alex Stamos made public the company’s Russia-linked activities. For Ms. Sandberg, “You threw us under the bus!” was nothing more than an acknowledgment that the company was forced to deal with yet another neglected matter.

And only days earlier, The New York Times had published another damning report against Facebook – this time finding that the company disclosed to Members of Congress that it failed to monitor data sharing partnerships with third parties. By failing in its oversight duties, Facebook was responsible for exposing personal data for hundreds of millions of its users and arguably failing to honor its 2013 agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). PricewaterhouseCoopers, the authors Facebook handpicked for a then-FTC mandated report, ultimately stated there was “limited evidence” that Facebook had ever even bothered in the first place to check up on the third parties it was sharing its user data with.

Behind Facebook’s lies, PR stunts and constant drive for profit, real lives are being affected and bad actors remain on their website. Not enough is being done and promises to do more are clearly not working nor have they ever. One week ago, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali was responsible for a knife attack, stabbing three people, killing one, and attempting to detonate a vehicle loaded with gas cylinders. Now, a video remains on Facebook showing Ali attacking police officers with a knife, as well as ISIS flags and text underneath praising the attacker. And ISIS remains a constant presence on Facebook, with readily found propaganda videos of beheadings, deaths, vehicle suicide bombings and executions.

To read more about this issue and see the aforementioned examples, as well as other examples of extremist content, please see the background below. 

EXTREMIST FACEBOOK CONTENT

1. Video Praising Australia Attacker With Over 700 Views

• Located on Facebook: November 14, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Two days
• 715 views, 25 likes/reacts and six shares
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Arabic
• Description: Footage from the November 9 attack in Melbourne, Australia, during which Hassan Khalif Shire Ali stabbed three people, killing one, and attempted to detonate a vehicle loaded with gas cylinders. Ali was killed by police during the attack. This video shows Ali attacking police officers with a knife, as well as ISIS flags and text underneath praising the attacker.

2. ISIS Propaganda Video With Over 500 Views On Facebook For One Week

• Located on Facebook: November 14, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Approximately one week
• 562 views, 32 likes/reacts and nine shares
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Arabic
• Description: The ISIS propaganda video “My Son Has Preceded Me: A Martyr’s Story,” originally released in February 2016.  The video shows a young teenager who becomes a vehicle suicide bomber.

3. Violent ISIS Propaganda Video On Facebook For Two Days With Over 900 Views

• Located on Facebook: November 14, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Two days
• 955 views, six likes/reacts and one share
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Arabic
• Description: The ISIS propaganda video “Support of the Oppressed,” originally released in December 2017 from the group’s self-proclaimed Diyala province in Iraq. The video includes combat footage and several executions, including a beheading and deaths by gunshot.

4. Violent ISIS Propaganda Video On Facebook With Over 1,600 Views In One Week

• Located on Facebook: November 14, 2018
• Time on Facebook: One week
• 1,600+ views, 135 likes/reacts and 26 shares
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Arabic
• Description: The ISIS video “Clanging of the Terror” originally released in August 2017 from the group’s self-proclaimed Khayr province in the Iraq-Syria border area. The video shows extensive combat, vehicle suicide bombings, dead bodies and executions.

5. Violent ISIS Footage

• Located on Facebook: November 14, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Six days
• 282 views, 10 likes/reacts and two shares
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Arabic
• Description: A two-minute-long clip that contains several executions from the ISIS video “Separation of the Heads,” originally released on October 21, 2018.

6. Violent ISIS Propaganda Video On Facebook For Five Days

• Located on Facebook: November 14, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Five days
• 157 views and six likes/reacts
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Arabic
• Description: The ISIS video “Separation of the Heads,” originally released from the group’s self-proclaimed Dijlah province in Iraq on October 21, 2018. The video shows ISIS operations in Iraq including raids by ISIS fighters disguised as Iraqi security forces, assassinations of village leaders, an attack on a soccer field and beheadings.

BACKGROUND

A New York Times Investigation Found Facebook Has Prioritized Profits And Company Growth Above Making Responsible Decisions About Their Website. “But as evidence accumulated that Facebook’s power could also be exploited to disrupt elections, broadcast viral propaganda and inspire deadly campaigns of hate around the globe, Mr. Zuckerberg and Ms. Sandberg stumbled. Bent on growth, the pair ignored warning signs and then sought to conceal them from public view. At critical moments over the last three years, they were distracted by personal projects, and passed off security and policy decisions to subordinates, according to current and former executives.” (Sheera Frenkel, Nicholas Confessore, Cecilia Kang, Matthew Rosenberg & Jack Nicas, “Delay, Deny And Deflect: How Facebook’s Leaders Fought Through Crisis,” The New York Times, 11/14/18)

The New York Times: “Facebook Failed To Police How Its Partners Handled User Data.” “Facebook failed to closely monitor device makers after granting them access to the personal data of hundreds of millions of people, according to a previously unreported disclosure to Congress last month. Facebook’s loose oversight of the partnerships was detected by the company’s government-approved privacy monitor in 2013. But it was never revealed to Facebook users, most of whom had not explicitly given the company permission to share their information. Details of those oversight practices were revealed in a letter Facebook sent last month to Senator Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat, a privacy advocate and frequent critic of the social media giant.” (Nicholas Confessore, Michael LaForgia & Gabriel J.X. Dance, “Facebook Failed To Police How Its Partners Handled User Data,” The New York Times, 11/12/18)