Daily Beast Says Facebook Helped Them Dox Trump Supporter

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.

Battle over federal courthouses erupts as GSA warns against giving judiciary more control

FL Voters Boot Cory Mills, the GOP Rep. Who Helped Keep Ilhan Omar from Being Stripped of Her Committee Assignments

The last January 6 case? Former DC police officer fighting conviction over contact with ex-Proud Boys leader

Trump urged to stop targeting fellow Republicans as GOP fights to keep majority

Biden admin released illegal immigrant accused of fatally stabbing Fairfax County mother

How one NYC suburb could decide which party controls the House

Freedom 250 Grand Prix preview: What to know if you’re attending the fastest weekend in DC

Misleading polls fuel socialist hopes that come crashing down on Election Day

CBP officers seize nearly 850 pounds of khat packed into 12 suitcases after flight from London

Alina Habba shuts down speculation she could replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary

Pennsylvania State Police helicopter, small plane collide in midair, killing 1 and injuring 2 state troopers

Missouri judge hands Trump, GOP major redistricting win ahead of midterm elections

Idaho county probation officers compile ‘foreign-born list’ to hand over to ICE as critics raise alarms

Chinese national in blue state charged with illegally voting in federal election under another man’s name: DOJ

Parents seek six figures from surrogate who refused abortion after baby’s heart diagnosis: report

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.