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.
Trump’s 4th of July fireworks display on National Mall confirmed as largest in history
Florida man allegedly kills family’s kittens in front of teenage daughter as form of punishment: officials
Watch: WNBA Player Ejected After Nearly Taking Off Sophie Cunningham’s Head With Clothesline Maneuver
EXCLUSIVE: Teen girls recall Jersey Shore ride malfunction that left them stuck hanging upside down
Trump’s White House ballroom foes face ‘very tough argument’ at Supreme Court, legal experts say
Fauci in the congressional wringer: a test for Trump’s newly-minted Attorney General
Graham replacement hopefuls make final pitches before special election: Iran war, DSA, Flock cams and more
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to what the Senate did and didn’t do overnight
One year on, US-brokered peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan cements US foothold in the Caucasus
Joe Biden’s cancer has spread further, leaving him in ‘very painful’ condition, Hunter reveals
Florida business owners allegedly scattered 1,500 mothballs on beach to send endangered birds packing
Don Lemon Whines to Judge and Blames Trump in Bid to Get Indictment Thrown Out
Cornell bans bear butchering after students carved up creature in dorm kitchen
‘DEI queen’: Virginia Dem’s past embrace of far-left prosecutors unearthed
Slain California fire captain’s wife admits murder after Mexico capture, serving time for killing first spouse
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.
Trump’s 4th of July fireworks display on National Mall confirmed as largest in history
Florida man allegedly kills family’s kittens in front of teenage daughter as form of punishment: officials
Watch: WNBA Player Ejected After Nearly Taking Off Sophie Cunningham’s Head With Clothesline Maneuver
EXCLUSIVE: Teen girls recall Jersey Shore ride malfunction that left them stuck hanging upside down
Trump’s White House ballroom foes face ‘very tough argument’ at Supreme Court, legal experts say
Fauci in the congressional wringer: a test for Trump’s newly-minted Attorney General
Graham replacement hopefuls make final pitches before special election: Iran war, DSA, Flock cams and more
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to what the Senate did and didn’t do overnight
One year on, US-brokered peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan cements US foothold in the Caucasus
Joe Biden’s cancer has spread further, leaving him in ‘very painful’ condition, Hunter reveals
Florida business owners allegedly scattered 1,500 mothballs on beach to send endangered birds packing
Don Lemon Whines to Judge and Blames Trump in Bid to Get Indictment Thrown Out
Cornell bans bear butchering after students carved up creature in dorm kitchen
‘DEI queen’: Virginia Dem’s past embrace of far-left prosecutors unearthed
Slain California fire captain’s wife admits murder after Mexico capture, serving time for killing first spouse
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.”
Trump’s 4th of July fireworks display on National Mall confirmed as largest in history
Florida man allegedly kills family’s kittens in front of teenage daughter as form of punishment: officials
Watch: WNBA Player Ejected After Nearly Taking Off Sophie Cunningham’s Head With Clothesline Maneuver
EXCLUSIVE: Teen girls recall Jersey Shore ride malfunction that left them stuck hanging upside down
Trump’s White House ballroom foes face ‘very tough argument’ at Supreme Court, legal experts say
Fauci in the congressional wringer: a test for Trump’s newly-minted Attorney General
Graham replacement hopefuls make final pitches before special election: Iran war, DSA, Flock cams and more
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to what the Senate did and didn’t do overnight
One year on, US-brokered peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan cements US foothold in the Caucasus
Joe Biden’s cancer has spread further, leaving him in ‘very painful’ condition, Hunter reveals
Florida business owners allegedly scattered 1,500 mothballs on beach to send endangered birds packing
Don Lemon Whines to Judge and Blames Trump in Bid to Get Indictment Thrown Out
Cornell bans bear butchering after students carved up creature in dorm kitchen
‘DEI queen’: Virginia Dem’s past embrace of far-left prosecutors unearthed
Slain California fire captain’s wife admits murder after Mexico capture, serving time for killing first spouse
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.”
Trump’s 4th of July fireworks display on National Mall confirmed as largest in history
Florida man allegedly kills family’s kittens in front of teenage daughter as form of punishment: officials
Watch: WNBA Player Ejected After Nearly Taking Off Sophie Cunningham’s Head With Clothesline Maneuver
EXCLUSIVE: Teen girls recall Jersey Shore ride malfunction that left them stuck hanging upside down
Trump’s White House ballroom foes face ‘very tough argument’ at Supreme Court, legal experts say
Fauci in the congressional wringer: a test for Trump’s newly-minted Attorney General
Graham replacement hopefuls make final pitches before special election: Iran war, DSA, Flock cams and more
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to what the Senate did and didn’t do overnight
One year on, US-brokered peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan cements US foothold in the Caucasus
Joe Biden’s cancer has spread further, leaving him in ‘very painful’ condition, Hunter reveals
Florida business owners allegedly scattered 1,500 mothballs on beach to send endangered birds packing
Don Lemon Whines to Judge and Blames Trump in Bid to Get Indictment Thrown Out
Cornell bans bear butchering after students carved up creature in dorm kitchen
‘DEI queen’: Virginia Dem’s past embrace of far-left prosecutors unearthed
Slain California fire captain’s wife admits murder after Mexico capture, serving time for killing first spouse
“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.









