Facebook admits hiring PR firm to attack billionaire George Soros
Facebook is carefully walking back statements it made about hiring a Republican opposition-research group to investigate billionaire George Soros.
In a blog post published late Wednesday, right before many Americans left work to begin the Thanksgiving holiday, Facebook admitted to asking an opposition-research company to investigate billionaire George Soros over his public criticism of the social network.
SEE ALSO:Mark Zuckerberg ordered staff to use Android phones after Apple CEO criticized company, report claimsElliot Schrage, Facebook's outgoing head of communications and policy, explained the company's decision to hire Definers Public Affairs and essentially took the blame for the decision.
"In January 2018, investor and philanthropist George Soros attacked Facebook in a speech at Davos, calling us a menace to society," said Schrage.
"We had not heard such criticism from him before and wanted to determine if he had any financial motivation. Definers researched this using public information."
"Later, when the Freedom from Facebook campaign emerged as a so-called grassroots coalition, the team asked Definers to help understand the groups behind them," he added.
"They learned that George Soros was funding several of the coalition members. They prepared documents and distributed these to the press to show that this was not simply a spontaneous grassroots movement."
Schrage's admission flies in the face of statements previously made by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg, who both denied having any knowledge of hiring Definers until the news was made public by a New York Timesinvestigation last week.
Sandberg said in a comment attached to the bottom of Schrage's post that she initially did not remember hiring the Republican opposition-research firm when she read the New York Times story.
But Sandberg inevitably walks back her denial of knowing about Definers, admitting that the work "crossed her desk."
Sandberg emphasized that the company did not intend to play into anti-Semetic conspiracy theories about Soros.
"I also want to emphasize that it was never anyone’s intention to play into an anti-Semitic narrative against Mr. Soros or anyone else," she said.
"Being Jewish is a core part of who I am and our company stands firmly against hate. The idea that our work has been interpreted as anti-Semitic is abhorrent to me — and deeply personal."
But Facebook's response to the scandal, and the many scandals that have predated this, suggest that the company is trying scuttle the admission that it did indeed hire a Republican-opposition research company to conduct a smear campaign against its critics, as first reported by the New York Times.
Still, despite all of this drama, Facebook does not have any major leadership changes planned. Zuckerberg told CNN Tuesday he has no plans to step down as chairman, and that he supports COO Sheryl Sandberg, who feared she may lose her job according to a Wall Street Journalreport.
So it seems that despite all the public backlash, Facebook remains an unsinkable and unshakeable network. We just hope that some of the more savvy users will finally consider deleting their accounts.
Featured Video For You
Why Pokémon fever captured so many young minds, including ours — Games to Play Before You Die
(责任编辑:产品中心)
-
Keurig K Mini deal — get $30 off at Target
GET $30 OFF:As of Aug 28, you can snag a Keurig K Mini single-serve coffee maker for just $59.99, do ...[详细] -
茂南人均GDP首超花都,仁化增速全省第三|数读广东统计年鉴2023
茂南人均GDP首超花都,仁化增速全省第三|数读广东统计年鉴2023_南方+_南方plus编者按近日,由广东省统计局和国家统计局广东调查总队合编的《2023广东统计年鉴》以下简称《年鉴》)发布,披露了广 ...[详细] -
雅安日报讯近日,由名山区人民检察院主编的《检察官在身边——怎么办系列问答》简读本与广大群众见面了,这是名山区检察院继今年2月编制发送《检务公开手册》以来再次编辑发送的第二本检务公开宣传手册。在深化检务 ...[详细]
-
雅安日报讯为适应当前新闻宣传工作的新形势、新任务、新要求,昨(28)日下午,由市委宣传部和市新闻工作者协会举办的全市新闻宣传业务专题培训班开班,对全市新闻战线上的同志进行系统培训。市新闻工作者协会特邀 ...[详细]
-
LG Display starts production of advanced OLED displays for gaming
A monitor equipped with LG Display's 27-inch 480Hz QHD Gaming OLED panel is on display. (LG Dis ...[详细] -
16万亩连州菜心陆续上市,装满湾区人的菜篮子_南方+_南方plus现在正值连州菜心的采摘上市季节,11月中旬以来,利用中、晚稻收割后的冬闲田种植的第一波清远连州菜心,经过60天左右茁壮生长陆续上市。“ ...[详细]
-
雅安日报讯5月29日,省城乡规划委员会工作会议专题审议并原则通过了《雅安市城市总体规划(2013—2020)》。会议充分肯定了我市以及省级相关部门和规划设计单位在规划修编过程中所做的工作,认为《雅安市 ...[详细]
-
雅安日报讯近日,天全联社借省联社召开规范员工账户管理专项治理工作动员视频会之机,组织召开了规范员工账户管理专项治理工作的动员大会,该社班子成员、中层干部、机关员工、城区网点员工及客户经理共计120余人 ...[详细]
-
Weather update for second Pak vs Ban second Test match day one
ListentoarticleThe second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh, part of the ICC World Test Champions ...[详细] -
为新队员戴上红领巾载歌载舞庆“六一”有身姿优美的舞蹈,有曲调动人的歌曲,也有说学逗唱的相声小品……6月1日是国际儿童节。连日来,我市各学校纷纷举办丰富多彩的活动,孩子们载歌载舞欢庆自己的节日。精彩节目 ...[详细]