The Daily Beast recently doxed a black forklift driver and reported Trump supporter for the alleged high crime of creating a parody video of Democrat speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi. But there’s more to the story — it appears Facebook may have helped the left-wing journalists identify him.
The Daily Beast identified the video creator as Shawn Brooks, whom they described as a forklift driver and Trump supporter from the Bronx.
A Twitter account claiming to be Brooks disputed key details of the story, claiming he is not a Trump supporter, did not create the parody video, and does not live in the Bronx.
By doxing Brooks, The Daily Beast followed the example of CNN, which threatened to unmask an anonymous Trump supporter over a parody video, forcing to him apologize in exchange for not revealing his identity. The scandal caused “CNNBlackmail” to trend on Twitter.
But there’s another aspect to the Daily Beast story which has major implications for the privacy of Facebook users — according to the Daily Beast reporter himself, Facebook gave him information on Brooks’ activity on the platform.
Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran
Police recover third device in ongoing Manhattan IED investigation after two arrests
Police swarm NYC street Sunday amid IED probe near Gracie Mansion
GOP senators push back against Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ description of SAVE Act
Officials confirm devices recovered at NYC protest near Gracie Mansion were both IEDs
NYPD confirms object thrown at protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an IED
Pro-Islam counterprotester arrested after deploying explosive device outside Mamdani residence
Trump warns Iran’s new leader won’t ‘last long’ without his approval
The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict
Trump’s Name Will Be on the Tallest Tower in Australia as Trump’s Company Makes International Real Estate Move
Another ‘Day in the Life’ Video Shows Cushy Conditions at Tech Company
Trump vows block on signing new laws until SAVE America Act passes Senate
Hegseth Reveals What Happened to Trans Kindergarten Teacher Who Wore Wolf Tail Around Kids
Woke Christian Leaders Issue Letter Against Rise of ‘White Christian Nationalism’
State Department defends ‘proactive’ evacuation efforts against Dems’ claims of diplomatic chaos
Via the Daily Beast:
It’s conceivable that someone else actually edited the clip. But a Facebook official, confirming a Daily Beast investigation, said the video was first posted on Politics WatchDog directly from Brooks’ personal Facebook account. [emphasis ours]
If the Daily Beast’s description of Facebook’s actions is accurate, Facebook compromised the privacy of one of its users, handing over information on his activity to a journalist who was clearly engaged in a politically motivated hatchet-job.
Facebook has been rocked by repeated privacy scandals over the past two years, including giving major corporations access to user data without permission. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently unveiled a re-branding effort emphasizing the company’s commitment to protecting the privacy of its users.
“I believe that the future is private,” Zuckerberg said at a recent Facebook conference.
Even left-wing feminist Caroline Orr, who described the Pelosi parody as “disgusting” (it’s simply a video of Pelosi slowed down to make her words appear slurred), expressed shock at the idea of Facebook handing over private information about its users.
Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran
Police recover third device in ongoing Manhattan IED investigation after two arrests
Police swarm NYC street Sunday amid IED probe near Gracie Mansion
GOP senators push back against Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ description of SAVE Act
Officials confirm devices recovered at NYC protest near Gracie Mansion were both IEDs
NYPD confirms object thrown at protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an IED
Pro-Islam counterprotester arrested after deploying explosive device outside Mamdani residence
Trump warns Iran’s new leader won’t ‘last long’ without his approval
The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict
Trump’s Name Will Be on the Tallest Tower in Australia as Trump’s Company Makes International Real Estate Move
Another ‘Day in the Life’ Video Shows Cushy Conditions at Tech Company
Trump vows block on signing new laws until SAVE America Act passes Senate
Hegseth Reveals What Happened to Trans Kindergarten Teacher Who Wore Wolf Tail Around Kids
Woke Christian Leaders Issue Letter Against Rise of ‘White Christian Nationalism’
State Department defends ‘proactive’ evacuation efforts against Dems’ claims of diplomatic chaos
So … it appears that Facebook helped the reporter who wrote this story identify the person behind the doctored video of Nancy Pelosi — i.e., Facebook used its own internal data to help publicly identify a private citizen.
That’s extremely troubling. 1/ https://t.co/DEXXL8C4uj
— Caroline Orr (@RVAwonk) June 2, 2019
“It appears that Facebook helped the reporter who wrote this story identify the person behind the doctored video of Nancy Pelosi — i.e., Facebook used its own internal data to help publicly identify a private citizen” wrote Orr.
“That’s extremely troubling.”
Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran
Police recover third device in ongoing Manhattan IED investigation after two arrests
Police swarm NYC street Sunday amid IED probe near Gracie Mansion
GOP senators push back against Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ description of SAVE Act
Officials confirm devices recovered at NYC protest near Gracie Mansion were both IEDs
NYPD confirms object thrown at protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an IED
Pro-Islam counterprotester arrested after deploying explosive device outside Mamdani residence
Trump warns Iran’s new leader won’t ‘last long’ without his approval
The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict
Trump’s Name Will Be on the Tallest Tower in Australia as Trump’s Company Makes International Real Estate Move
Another ‘Day in the Life’ Video Shows Cushy Conditions at Tech Company
Trump vows block on signing new laws until SAVE America Act passes Senate
Hegseth Reveals What Happened to Trans Kindergarten Teacher Who Wore Wolf Tail Around Kids
Woke Christian Leaders Issue Letter Against Rise of ‘White Christian Nationalism’
State Department defends ‘proactive’ evacuation efforts against Dems’ claims of diplomatic chaos
Facebook confirmed to the reporter that the video was first posted “directly from Brooks’ personal Facebook account.”
So… Facebook is handing over information to reporters regarding what people are doing on their personal Facebook accounts? 2/ pic.twitter.com/7D6MDcU5Es
— Caroline Orr (@RVAwonk) June 2, 2019
“Facebook confirmed to the reporter that the video was first posted “directly from Brooks’ personal Facebook account.”
Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran
Police recover third device in ongoing Manhattan IED investigation after two arrests
Police swarm NYC street Sunday amid IED probe near Gracie Mansion
GOP senators push back against Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ description of SAVE Act
Officials confirm devices recovered at NYC protest near Gracie Mansion were both IEDs
NYPD confirms object thrown at protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an IED
Pro-Islam counterprotester arrested after deploying explosive device outside Mamdani residence
Trump warns Iran’s new leader won’t ‘last long’ without his approval
The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict
Trump’s Name Will Be on the Tallest Tower in Australia as Trump’s Company Makes International Real Estate Move
Another ‘Day in the Life’ Video Shows Cushy Conditions at Tech Company
Trump vows block on signing new laws until SAVE America Act passes Senate
Hegseth Reveals What Happened to Trans Kindergarten Teacher Who Wore Wolf Tail Around Kids
Woke Christian Leaders Issue Letter Against Rise of ‘White Christian Nationalism’
State Department defends ‘proactive’ evacuation efforts against Dems’ claims of diplomatic chaos
“So… Facebook is handing over information to reporters regarding what people are doing on their personal Facebook accounts?”
“The guy didn’t break any laws. He didn’t even violate any of Facebook’s policies, according to the company. The doctored video is still up! In Facebook’s eyes, this guy did nothing wrong — yet they just handed over his private data to a reporter. How is that justifiable?”
Breitbart News has reached out to Facebook for its side of the story.
Story cited here.









