Connecting the Dots on Facebook’s Smear Campaign

Perhaps you’ve probably heard: Facebook and Google are at war, and Facebook’s not afraid to play dirty. Thursday’s revelation that the social networking site hired PR firm Burston-Marsteller to plant a negative story about Google’s privacy settings raises a number of questions. Like, “Who at Facebook thought this was a good idea?” The company isn't responding to the question right now. Until they do, it helps to look at the players involved. There’s Burston-Marsteller, the global PR firm run by CEO Mark Penn. There’s Jim Goldman, the former Silicon Valley bureau chief for CNBC (and frequent target of high school-style ridicule). He’s become the fall guy for Burston-Marsteller. There’s Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s universally praised COO. And then there’s Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s VP of communications and public policy. Penn, of course, is a Washington heavy hitter: he worked as a pollster to President Clinton during both of his terms and the Washington Post noted how “thoroughly integrated into the policymaking operation” he’d become. Penn’s also no stranger to criticism from Washington observers: he gained notoriety for missteps as chief strategist to Hillary Clinton during her 2008 Presidential bid. He eventually stepped down after feuding with other aides, and for reportedly offering Clinton some of her worst advice (like, emphasize Barack Obama’s foreignness). Penn’s also no stranger to the tech world—he’s credited with making Microsoft into one of the country’s most... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #googles head #silicon valley #focus attention

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‘No feedback and zero movement’: Facebook Watch’s international expansion is off to a rocky start

For U.K. publishers, the journey to becoming a Facebook Watch partner is not an obvious one. The post ‘No feedback and zero movement’: Facebook Watch’s international expansion is off to a rocky start appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook watch #international expansion #rocky start


Martin Lewis sues Facebook over fake adverts with his name

MoneySavingExpert founder says firm failed to stop false adverts luring victims into scamsMartin Lewis, the consumer advice and money-saving expert, is suing Facebook for defamation after it published dozens of fake adverts featuring his face and name. He is seeking exemplary damages in the high... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #high court #facebook failed


More Facebook videos will get pre-roll ads soon

Facebook plans to try out pre-roll ads -- that is, commercials that play before videos -- in more parts of its service. This comes after it's spent months testing the format in limited places, like the Watch section. In a blog post published today, t... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook videos #pre-roll ads #facebook plans


OUP Moves Up Forthcoming Book on Facebook

OUP president Niko Pfund told PW that after Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony on Capitol Hill, it became clear that Siva Vaidhyanathan's book, originall scheduled for fall, "needed to be part of the conversation" now taking place. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mark zuckerberg #capitol hill #taking place


Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faces tough questions on Capitol Hill

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg faced criticism Tuesday from senators over his company’s handling of user data in a Capitol Hill hearing that could amount to a reckoning on the technology industry and its practices. “Let me just cut to the chase. If you and other social media... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #capitol hill #user data


As Facebook ignores memes, even fake news about Mark Zuckerberg spreads like wildfire

A few days ago, the Columbia Journalism Review published a thorough and frightening look into Facebook’s fact-checking program. The social network enlists organizations like Snopes and PolitiFact to scroll through thousands of contested articles and deem how factual they are. As CJR writes, the... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2018-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fake news #days ago


How digital publisher PinkNews is weaning itself off Facebook dependence

“It has been disappointing that Facebook is not the winner it used to be, but it means we have gone back to our core audience." The post How digital publisher PinkNews is weaning itself off Facebook dependence appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #core audience


Facebook is changing the way it stores call and text history

Facebook published a blog post today detailing the changes it has made to how it manages users' data. You can read a broader summary of that report here, but among the new changes is a tweak to how Facebook collects and stores call and text history.... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook published #text history


Facebook says 'most people' likely had their data scraped from its platform

Facebook has announced a sweeping overhaul of its data collection rules, and revealed that most people's accounts were likely targets of "scraping" by malicious actors.Mike Schroepfer, chief technology officer, on Wednesday published a blog post outlining nine areas where Facebook would focus on... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2018-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mike schroepfer #data protection #brexit referendum


Up to 87 million Facebook users affected in privacy scandal

Facebook says as many as 87 million people may have had their data accessed in the Cambridge Analytica scandal - an increase from the 50 million disclosed in published reports. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2018-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facing a trust crisis, Facebook offers up even more context about news feed publishers

Facebook has been making attempts to restore people’s trust in what they come across in their news feeds. In the latest example, the company is rolling out new features that aim to give users more information about the publishers and stories they read. Originally conducted as a test last year,... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2018-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook offers #news feeds #give users


Facebook's CEO hits back at 'glib' comments by Apple's Cook

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg hit back against Tim Cook, calling the Apple Inc. CEO's criticism of the social-media giant "extremely glib."Cook was asked about Facebook's privacy crisis last month and called for stronger regulation of user data. A day after, Cook said he... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2018-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tim cook #user data #published monday


Facebook rolls out news verification tools to everyone in the US

Facebook has been fighting fake news for a while now, ranking "trusted" sources and demoting "engagement bait" stories. Last October, the company began testing a feature that provided information on article publishers to help people decide which sour... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook rolls #article publishers


A Pre-Scandal Mark Zuckerberg Said Users Trusted Facebook To Protect Their Privacy

In an interview released for the first time today, the Facebook CEO discussed privacy with Freaknonomics Radio last summer. It was a simpler time. Last summer, months before Mark Zuckerberg was feeling the intense pressure of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, the Facebook CEO said he knew... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2018-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mark zuckerberg #intense pressure #facebook ceo #personal information


Facebook promises to delete unpublished videos

Now that Facebook has been outed as keeping videos you've recorded but never published, the social media has promised to actually delete them. Last week, the sister of a New York Magazine writer found old videos that should have been cleaned off the... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook promises


Leaked Facebook memo: 'ugly truth' justified any growth tactics

Buzzfeed has published an internal Facebook memo entitled "The Ugly" from 2016 that shows just how much emphasis the social network places on growth above safety, privacy and everything else. Written by Facebook VP Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, one of Mark... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ugly truth #growth tactics


Despite decline, bookmobiles connect and enrich communities

Across the country, librarians drive around 650 bookmobiles, providing a vital service in rural areas with limited access to libraries and the internet. Most importantly, says a Kentucky librarian Sandra Hennessee, her bookmobile helps provide a sense of community.  Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2018-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Actually, Facebook’s big algorithm change hasn’t hurt partisan media

A few months ago Facebook implemented a big change in its algorithm that impacted what kind of content it would surface to users. In a move that sent shivers down the spines of media professionals, Facebook said it would de-prioritize publisher content in favor of posts between connections. For... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2018-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big change #media professionals


Facebook may have kept the videos you recorded but never published

Mark Zuckerberg's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad 2018 keeps getting worse. As people have begun downloading their Facebook data, they've found something unsettling: videos they recorded, but never published on the site. Recently, a Select/All... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook data #mark zuckerberg #ve found


Weather Co. goes all-in on 'Taboola Feed,' a Facebook Newsfeed clone

IBM-owned The Weather Company says it's going all-in on Taboola Feed, which mimics the look and feel of Facebook's News Feed, the publication said Thursday, making it perhaps the largest publisher to adopt the format.Like Facebook's News Feed, Taboola Feed is an infinite scroll that surfaces... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2018-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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