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.

Will the Force ever awaken?

High-profile convicts lobby for rumored Trump pardons ahead of 250th anniversary

Overall success: The small-town appeal of vintage workwear

From reality TV to city hall? Trump-backed Spencer Pratt soars in LA mayor race as Californians vote

Trump makes late-night endorsements in six states ahead of Tuesday primaries, including California

Florida beach toll booth worker killed after driver rams structure before getting stuck in sand, sheriff says

Jared Kushner’s overseas luxury resort project faces anti-corruption investigation amid violent protests

Senate Democrats offer little support as Platner faces new sexting controversy: ‘Staying out of it’

Texas teens accused of using dating apps to lure young men into violent robberies that left one victim shot

Meet the Left’s Merchant of Hate

The Truth About Genocide in America: What North American Indians Were Doing to Each Other When Europeans Arrived

Trump administration names Rosario ‘Pete’ Vasquez to serve as next US Border Patrol chief

6 Years Ago This Week: Trump Rushed to WH Bunker, 60 Secret Service Members Injured During Leftist Riots

America Will Turn 250 in July as a Deeply Divided Country, But Our Spirit Remains Unbroken

Kash Patel touts FBI ‘full-throttle mission’ after Operation Spring Cleaning yields 615 indictments/complaints

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.