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.

Second tanker seized near Venezuela as US enforces oil blockade

Meet Minnesota’s fraud ‘mastermind’ accused of playing ‘God,’ wielding ‘fake’ racism claims in Somali scandal

Colorado state senator’s BAC was twice legal limit at time of fatal car crash: Coroner’s report

Elizabeth Smart blasts Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘country club’ prison treatment: ‘Makes me sick’

The council of Trump: Catholicism’s uncomfortable prominence in US politics

Conservatives need to embrace ‘fusion’ of populism, top leader says, calling AmFest scenes are ‘encouraging’

Desperate search for two men underway after fishing boat found empty 70 miles off Florida coast

2028 lines being drawn among conservatives as two top names emerge among AmericaFest activists

Op-Ed: Mamdani’s So-Called ‘Working Retreat’ in the Maldives

Students Protest After Teen Is Allegedly Murdered by Classmate Who Was Known as ‘a Danger to Other Students’

Jasmine Crockett Spirals Into Word Salad Answer When Cornered on Reparations

Inside Stefanik’s exit and how the Trump endorsement that never came was ‘biggest piece’ of the ‘puzzle’

New York Parents Furious as State-Mandated Electric Buses Leave Kids Without Heat in Frigid Temperatures

Key Mamdani Appointee Resigns After Past Comments About Jews, White People Come to Light

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.