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.
UN nuclear watchdog says Iran nuclear site damaged in strikes
Justice Department’s new policy saves $1.6 million in taxpayer dollars previously spent on transgender procedures
Supreme Court blocks California ban on notifying students’ parents about gender transitions
Cornyn wants to work with Trump to fix ‘broken’ immigration system if reelected
BREAKING: US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Hit by Multiple Iranian Drones
Markets Handle Iran Strikes Brilliantly as S&P 500 Has Biggest Intraday Recovery in 5 Months Finishing Positive for the Day
Trump sends official notification to Congress on strikes against Iran
Virginia Mom Allegedly Murdered by Illegal Alien with 30 Priors Only Weeks After Dem Governor Blocks ICE Cooperation
Department of Education Honors Charlie Kirk with Banner as Part of America’s 250th Birthday Celebration: ‘Heroes in American Education’
Watch: Responding to an ABC Reporter, Trump Just Issued the Coolest Wartime Quote in Presidential History – It’ll Never Be Topped
Iran Update: Trump Says Attack Is Moving Much Faster Than Expected With 1,200 Targets Hit and the Entire Iranian Navy Neutralized
Musk, xAI tout newest Grok update as only ‘non-woke’ platform: ‘Doesn’t equivocate”
Trump admin warned lawmakers Israel was ‘determined to act with or without us’ before massive Iran strikes
Tarot influencer’s claims in Idaho college murders case spark courtroom reckoning
New Jersey-bound United flight makes emergency landing at LAX after engine fire
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.
UN nuclear watchdog says Iran nuclear site damaged in strikes
Justice Department’s new policy saves $1.6 million in taxpayer dollars previously spent on transgender procedures
Supreme Court blocks California ban on notifying students’ parents about gender transitions
Cornyn wants to work with Trump to fix ‘broken’ immigration system if reelected
BREAKING: US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Hit by Multiple Iranian Drones
Markets Handle Iran Strikes Brilliantly as S&P 500 Has Biggest Intraday Recovery in 5 Months Finishing Positive for the Day
Trump sends official notification to Congress on strikes against Iran
Virginia Mom Allegedly Murdered by Illegal Alien with 30 Priors Only Weeks After Dem Governor Blocks ICE Cooperation
Department of Education Honors Charlie Kirk with Banner as Part of America’s 250th Birthday Celebration: ‘Heroes in American Education’
Watch: Responding to an ABC Reporter, Trump Just Issued the Coolest Wartime Quote in Presidential History – It’ll Never Be Topped
Iran Update: Trump Says Attack Is Moving Much Faster Than Expected With 1,200 Targets Hit and the Entire Iranian Navy Neutralized
Musk, xAI tout newest Grok update as only ‘non-woke’ platform: ‘Doesn’t equivocate”
Trump admin warned lawmakers Israel was ‘determined to act with or without us’ before massive Iran strikes
Tarot influencer’s claims in Idaho college murders case spark courtroom reckoning
New Jersey-bound United flight makes emergency landing at LAX after engine fire
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.”
UN nuclear watchdog says Iran nuclear site damaged in strikes
Justice Department’s new policy saves $1.6 million in taxpayer dollars previously spent on transgender procedures
Supreme Court blocks California ban on notifying students’ parents about gender transitions
Cornyn wants to work with Trump to fix ‘broken’ immigration system if reelected
BREAKING: US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Hit by Multiple Iranian Drones
Markets Handle Iran Strikes Brilliantly as S&P 500 Has Biggest Intraday Recovery in 5 Months Finishing Positive for the Day
Trump sends official notification to Congress on strikes against Iran
Virginia Mom Allegedly Murdered by Illegal Alien with 30 Priors Only Weeks After Dem Governor Blocks ICE Cooperation
Department of Education Honors Charlie Kirk with Banner as Part of America’s 250th Birthday Celebration: ‘Heroes in American Education’
Watch: Responding to an ABC Reporter, Trump Just Issued the Coolest Wartime Quote in Presidential History – It’ll Never Be Topped
Iran Update: Trump Says Attack Is Moving Much Faster Than Expected With 1,200 Targets Hit and the Entire Iranian Navy Neutralized
Musk, xAI tout newest Grok update as only ‘non-woke’ platform: ‘Doesn’t equivocate”
Trump admin warned lawmakers Israel was ‘determined to act with or without us’ before massive Iran strikes
Tarot influencer’s claims in Idaho college murders case spark courtroom reckoning
New Jersey-bound United flight makes emergency landing at LAX after engine fire
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.”
UN nuclear watchdog says Iran nuclear site damaged in strikes
Justice Department’s new policy saves $1.6 million in taxpayer dollars previously spent on transgender procedures
Supreme Court blocks California ban on notifying students’ parents about gender transitions
Cornyn wants to work with Trump to fix ‘broken’ immigration system if reelected
BREAKING: US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Hit by Multiple Iranian Drones
Markets Handle Iran Strikes Brilliantly as S&P 500 Has Biggest Intraday Recovery in 5 Months Finishing Positive for the Day
Trump sends official notification to Congress on strikes against Iran
Virginia Mom Allegedly Murdered by Illegal Alien with 30 Priors Only Weeks After Dem Governor Blocks ICE Cooperation
Department of Education Honors Charlie Kirk with Banner as Part of America’s 250th Birthday Celebration: ‘Heroes in American Education’
Watch: Responding to an ABC Reporter, Trump Just Issued the Coolest Wartime Quote in Presidential History – It’ll Never Be Topped
Iran Update: Trump Says Attack Is Moving Much Faster Than Expected With 1,200 Targets Hit and the Entire Iranian Navy Neutralized
Musk, xAI tout newest Grok update as only ‘non-woke’ platform: ‘Doesn’t equivocate”
Trump admin warned lawmakers Israel was ‘determined to act with or without us’ before massive Iran strikes
Tarot influencer’s claims in Idaho college murders case spark courtroom reckoning
New Jersey-bound United flight makes emergency landing at LAX after engine fire
“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.









