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Facebook Reportedly Hired a PR Firm That Wrote Negative Articles About Rivals, Pushed George Soros Conspiracy Theory (cnbc.com)
According to a recently-published report in the New York Times, Facebook hired a public relations firm last year that wrote dozens of articles critical of rivals Google and Apple and pushed the idea that liberal financier George Soros was behind a growing anti-Facebook movement. "Facebook expanded its relationship with Definers Public Affairs in October 2017 after enduring a year's worth of external criticism over its handling of Russian interference on its social network," CNBC summarizes. From the report: The firm reportedly wrote articles that blasted Google and Apple while downplaying the impact of Russian interference on Facebook. Those articles were published on NTK Network, an affiliate of the firm whose content is often followed by politically conservative outlets, including Breitbart, the report says. Definers Public Affairs also reportedly pressed reporters to explore Soros' financial connections with groups that protested Facebook at Congressional hearings in July.
Facebook's relationship with Definers Public Affairs were outlined as part of a broader report that looked at the company's handling of numerous scandals over the past three years, including Russian interference and the Cambridge Analytica scandal in March. Other revelations in the report include Sheryl Sandberg's apparent fury when former security chief told the board of directors in fall 2017 about the full extent of Russian interference on the platform, and Mark Zuckerberg ordering managers to use Android phones after Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized the company's approach to privacy earlier this year.
Facebook's relationship with Definers Public Affairs were outlined as part of a broader report that looked at the company's handling of numerous scandals over the past three years, including Russian interference and the Cambridge Analytica scandal in March. Other revelations in the report include Sheryl Sandberg's apparent fury when former security chief told the board of directors in fall 2017 about the full extent of Russian interference on the platform, and Mark Zuckerberg ordering managers to use Android phones after Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized the company's approach to privacy earlier this year.
PR firms do this kind of thing, it's basically expected for them to lie and deceive as much as legally possible.
Advertizing is the a deep poison that ruins many things on the internet. Email was a great idea (and still is).....but spam made it almost intolerable for years. Now we've reduced the email spam problem to a tolerable level (by removing open relays and centralizing our mail servers, which is a sad thing), but the problem of advertizing has infected the entire rest of the web. Why does fake news get written? Because you can make a profit off it. If it weren't for profit, then Breitbart would not exist.
Some people argue that without advertizing, some things couldn't be supported financially. I counter that those things probably aren't worth having around anyway, if people aren't willing to toss a few dollars a year their way to cover hosting. Wikipedia manages. Subscription services like Netflix would still be able to exist.
It is therefore a moral obligation to use ad blocker: to help make the internet a better place. Since ads contain malware, it is not just the morally correct thing to do, it is also the practical and most reasonable thing to do.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
I don't understand why Americans keep tolerating Facebook. The founder Zuckerberg literally said, "I don't know, they trust me with their data, idiots."
Does every American have a gun to their head to use Facebook? No? Then delete that shit.
A quality think tank would make sure you can't tell it's from a think tank.
Delete. Your. Accounts.
The guy posting all this political crap with a faint hint of computers is a retard who is ruining this website.
You don't get it, do you. Facebook is a tech company, one of the most influential. Why? Because people are dumb shit, that's why. They trust facebook the same way my parents trusted the printed newspaper.
If you can't see how this is News for Nerd, Stuff that Matters, I posit that you are one of the ones ruining this site.
Tech has become politicized. Deal with it. Don't ignore it.
Still don't get it? OK I'll spell out out, let me know if you need pictures, too: Facebook is just another way to manipulate public opinion, but is much more insidious than print ever was.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
Racism, anti-semitism, and anti-immigrant hysteria just aren't getting the job done like they did in 2016.
I'm not sure if this is sarcasm or not, because here in Florida the don't monkey this up candidate got more votes (and likely will be the winner if they ever finish counting ballots). Of course, I'm sure the line of thinking with most voters was "I don't mind voting for the guy the racists think is racist, so long as it keeps taxes low."
It's also Florida being Florida, as usual.
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DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
What if George Soros paid for this fake news article about George Soros paying for fake news articles??!
"I guess they trust me. Dumb fucks."
Don't sugarcoat the actual j00 quote, you cuck.
Please tell me you're joking. I've been working on a book called "Watching Paint Dry, and Other Adventures" for about 8 years now. It's a small market, and I'd hate to get beaten to it. Now if only I could stop falling asleep during edits, I'd finish it one of these days.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
I've been considering dumping Facebook and FB-owned Instagram for a while. This finally pushed me over the edge - they respond to criticism that they're destroying democracy by fanning vile, anti-Semitic and anti-democratic conspiracies. Fuck them, I joined MeWe.com today.