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When the NYT first published "Delay, Deny and Deflect" [1], Sandberg pretended she didn't know anything about it and promised to investigate. Later, she claime
by panarky 8y ago
When the NYT first published "Delay, Deny and Deflect" [1], Sandberg pretended she didn't know anything about it and promised to investigate.
Later, she claimed the investigation turned up emails about Facebook's deceptive practices that "crossed her desk" [2], but made it sound like her involvement was peripheral and incidental.
Naturally, now we learn those were all lies, and she was personally involved the entire time actually leading the effort.
Just more Delay, Deny and Deflect.
Facebook cannot be trusted to fix Facebook.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/technology/facebook-data-russia-election-racism.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/technology/facebook-data-...
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/business/on-thanksgiving-eve-facebook-acknowledges-details-of-times-investigation.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/business/on-thanksgiving-...
- bob_bob_bob 8y agoI'm not sure what "this" you're referring to is, but assuming it's Definers: where did you learn she was involved the entire time? This article says: Ms. Sandberg [...] asked for the information in an email to a senior executive in January[...]. The email came within days of a blistering speech Mr. Soros delivered that month at the World Economic Forum, attacking Facebook and Google as a “menace” to society and calling for the companies to be regulated. This seems like a pretty reasonable reaction. As far as I understand this has nothing to do with Definers.
- panarky 8y agoI'm referring to Facebook's efforts to discredit critics through the same sleazy disinformation campaign tactics that Facebook continues to amplify for other shadowy groups. You know, like targeting Facebook users who are racist and anti-Semitic with disinfo about George Soros, while simultaneously telling Jewish users that Facebook's critics are themselves anti-Semitic. FTFA, first paragraph: Sheryl Sandberg was directly involved in the social media company’s effort to conduct opposition research against billionaire philanthropist George Soros... ...reporting contradicts Sandberg’s previous portrayals of her involvement; she has said she was unaware of the campaign-style communications work done by Republican public relations firm Definers Public Affairs
- isoskeles 8y ago> Facebook cannot be trusted to fix Facebook. It's okay, that game is already lost. The headline is "Sheryl Sandberg..." We've moved on from Facebook being the object of the scandal to Sheryl Sandberg. I'm sorry it worked out this way, but as you point out yourself, she lied, which is really very super quite bad. Seriously though, Facebook is bad for reasons that have very little to do with bickering with George Soros or lies and more to do with its actual effect on human relationships and identity. As a person who doesn't care about a lot of things, I can't find it in my heart to get upset about Sheryl Sandberg telling lies. I don't find the moralizing over it to be genuine, given all of the things happening in the world, and even given Facebook's effect on culture-at-large, Sheryl Sandberg lying (which I don't even 100% believe) is so low on the list. Let me bring Hitler in as an example. And I'm not going to compare you to Hitler. No, I am going to compare Sheryl Sandberg to Hitler, but I am writing in her favor (kind of), so I feel like this is fair to do and not in the spirit of whatever that internet law about bringing up Hitler is. Let's say Hitler led Nazi Germany to systematically exterminate millions of people (he did). Now, let's say he lied about it. People said, "Hey Hitler, are you killing millions of people?" And he said, "No, I am absolutely not doing that." Time passes and, one day, we come to find out Adolf Hitler did, in fact, lead Nazi Germany to kill millions of people. Imagine waking up in 1944, visiting Hacker News, reading some headlines, and spitting out your coffee because, come to find out, Hitler lied and also btw he killed a few million people. And for weeks, headline after headline, Hitler lied, Hitler is a liar. All I am saying is, can we get some content from NYT on how Facebook is genuinely bad that doesn't have to do with their PR lies? Because I don't care about what their PR is doing or saying. I also don't care if Sandberg's career is ruined, I just don't see how any of this is relevant to anyone's interests other than something like Two Minutes Hate.