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.
Hero High School Principal Takes a Bullet to Stop School Shooter
DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into Cassidy Hutchinson, Democrats’ Star Jan. 6 Witness: Report
Top school district slapped with complaint alleging ‘elaborate system’ to keep kids’ gender transitions secret
Fox News Poll: Record number say taxes are too high; government spending seen as wasteful
Suspect accused of killing Iryna Zarutska ‘incapable to proceed’ on his charge
Video: ‘In the Name of Allah’ – Man with Knife Arrested in Ohio for Threatening to Kill Father, Then Chasing His Unsuspecting Daughter
Charlotte light-rail murder suspect ruled incompetent to stand trial as history of crazed claims trails case
Top GOP hawk Graham warns Iran deal has ‘troubling aspects’ as ceasefire begins
JD Vance’s Task Force Uncovers $6 Billion in Potential Fraud, Begins Taking Action: Report
Trump admin scores Minnesota court win in Medicaid fraud crackdown
Shapiro tells Democrats to move past anti-Trump rhetoric at Al Sharpton’s confab
Ex-paramedic accused of drip-feeding wife to death—then faking his own kidnapping when heat turned up
Hungarian success in befriending American conservatives on display as Orban faces down possible defeat
Dem Senate nominee distances herself from Kamala Harris ahead of visit: ‘Will not be attending’
Rex Heuermann, suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, pleads guilty to seven killings
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.
Hero High School Principal Takes a Bullet to Stop School Shooter
DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into Cassidy Hutchinson, Democrats’ Star Jan. 6 Witness: Report
Top school district slapped with complaint alleging ‘elaborate system’ to keep kids’ gender transitions secret
Fox News Poll: Record number say taxes are too high; government spending seen as wasteful
Suspect accused of killing Iryna Zarutska ‘incapable to proceed’ on his charge
Video: ‘In the Name of Allah’ – Man with Knife Arrested in Ohio for Threatening to Kill Father, Then Chasing His Unsuspecting Daughter
Charlotte light-rail murder suspect ruled incompetent to stand trial as history of crazed claims trails case
Top GOP hawk Graham warns Iran deal has ‘troubling aspects’ as ceasefire begins
JD Vance’s Task Force Uncovers $6 Billion in Potential Fraud, Begins Taking Action: Report
Trump admin scores Minnesota court win in Medicaid fraud crackdown
Shapiro tells Democrats to move past anti-Trump rhetoric at Al Sharpton’s confab
Ex-paramedic accused of drip-feeding wife to death—then faking his own kidnapping when heat turned up
Hungarian success in befriending American conservatives on display as Orban faces down possible defeat
Dem Senate nominee distances herself from Kamala Harris ahead of visit: ‘Will not be attending’
Rex Heuermann, suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, pleads guilty to seven killings
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.”
Hero High School Principal Takes a Bullet to Stop School Shooter
DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into Cassidy Hutchinson, Democrats’ Star Jan. 6 Witness: Report
Top school district slapped with complaint alleging ‘elaborate system’ to keep kids’ gender transitions secret
Fox News Poll: Record number say taxes are too high; government spending seen as wasteful
Suspect accused of killing Iryna Zarutska ‘incapable to proceed’ on his charge
Video: ‘In the Name of Allah’ – Man with Knife Arrested in Ohio for Threatening to Kill Father, Then Chasing His Unsuspecting Daughter
Charlotte light-rail murder suspect ruled incompetent to stand trial as history of crazed claims trails case
Top GOP hawk Graham warns Iran deal has ‘troubling aspects’ as ceasefire begins
JD Vance’s Task Force Uncovers $6 Billion in Potential Fraud, Begins Taking Action: Report
Trump admin scores Minnesota court win in Medicaid fraud crackdown
Shapiro tells Democrats to move past anti-Trump rhetoric at Al Sharpton’s confab
Ex-paramedic accused of drip-feeding wife to death—then faking his own kidnapping when heat turned up
Hungarian success in befriending American conservatives on display as Orban faces down possible defeat
Dem Senate nominee distances herself from Kamala Harris ahead of visit: ‘Will not be attending’
Rex Heuermann, suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, pleads guilty to seven killings
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.”
Hero High School Principal Takes a Bullet to Stop School Shooter
DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into Cassidy Hutchinson, Democrats’ Star Jan. 6 Witness: Report
Top school district slapped with complaint alleging ‘elaborate system’ to keep kids’ gender transitions secret
Fox News Poll: Record number say taxes are too high; government spending seen as wasteful
Suspect accused of killing Iryna Zarutska ‘incapable to proceed’ on his charge
Video: ‘In the Name of Allah’ – Man with Knife Arrested in Ohio for Threatening to Kill Father, Then Chasing His Unsuspecting Daughter
Charlotte light-rail murder suspect ruled incompetent to stand trial as history of crazed claims trails case
Top GOP hawk Graham warns Iran deal has ‘troubling aspects’ as ceasefire begins
JD Vance’s Task Force Uncovers $6 Billion in Potential Fraud, Begins Taking Action: Report
Trump admin scores Minnesota court win in Medicaid fraud crackdown
Shapiro tells Democrats to move past anti-Trump rhetoric at Al Sharpton’s confab
Ex-paramedic accused of drip-feeding wife to death—then faking his own kidnapping when heat turned up
Hungarian success in befriending American conservatives on display as Orban faces down possible defeat
Dem Senate nominee distances herself from Kamala Harris ahead of visit: ‘Will not be attending’
Rex Heuermann, suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, pleads guilty to seven killings
“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.









