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.

GOP veteran defeats populist candidate in one of America’s most conservative districts

MAGA triumph: Trump ally Ken Paxton defeats John Cornyn in bitter Texas GOP primary war

We Could Cover 10 Percent of the Entire Deficit if Gov’t Stopped Accidentally Making Improper Payments

Owner of Trump House Who Was Brutally Beaten Has Died – Wife Believes Politics Motivated Murder

Reparations-Backing California Candidate Run Out of Black LA Neighborhood Over His ‘Devil Blue Eyes’

Murder-suicide probe underway after alleged Tom Selleck impersonator scam targeted woman

Mamdani faces a Muslim problem ahead of Gracie Mansion protest

DOJ sues UCLA for fostering ‘hostile’ antisemitic environment for Jewish and Israeli students

Thom Tillis Unloads on Hegseth, Ken Paxton in Weekend Tantrum as GOP’s Establishment Wing Faces Extinction

Graham Platner vows to ‘come after’ Bezos as Senate hopeful escalates billionaire tax fight

Woman killed by flying restaurant umbrella in freak accident at South Carolina lakeside restaurant

Ousted Senate Republican digs in against Trump, takes jab at leadership style

Democrats’ Official X Account Forced to Delete Horribly Disrespectful Memorial Day Post – But We’ve Got the Original

Jake Auchincloss denies supporting Collins in Maine Senate race after opposing Planter bid

Redistricting push in South Carolina fails after state Senate bails

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.