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Judd Legum @JuddLegum
, 10 tweets, 5 min read Read on Twitter
1. I have the inside story on how The Weekly Standard, a right-wing magazine with a history of pushing misinformation, became an official Facebook fact-checker

It's not pretty.

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
2. In response to criticism following the 2016 election, Facebook launched a fact-checking program.

The initial partners were Politifact, the AP and a few other non-ideological outlet.

The right-wing went NUTS claiming these outlets were biased

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
3. Among those complaining the loudest: The Weekly Standard.

The Weekly Standard described the program as the Facebook program as "a panel of censors to police speech."

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
4. The Weekly Standard had no fact checking program to speak of. But in October 2017, they struck a deal with Facebook to join the fact-checking program

A source told Quartz that the purpose of including TWS was to "appease all sides"

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
5. But in order for Facebook to select them, the Weekly Standard need to get approved by Poynter. So they started checking facts on November 1 and after a grand total of 10 fact checks submitted their application

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
6. I spoke w/Mark Coddington, a journalism professor who Poynter had review TWS's application.

He told me he thought there really wasn't enough of a track record to make a full evaluation

He advised Poynter wait 3 months before deciding to certify them

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
7. Coddington's recommendation was ignored and TWS was approved by Poynter a few days later.

Poynter acknowledged to me they knew Facebook had made the deal with TWS before they even applied, but that didn't influence their decision

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
8. So on the strength of a handful of fact checks that an independent expert deemed insufficient, The Weekly Standard now has the ability to effectively censor any piece of content on the Facebook platform

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
9. Before joining TWS, the total journalistic experience of the individual who wields this power was 4 months at The Daily Caller

Now he can reduce the distribution of any article on Facebook by 80%.

There is no appeal, except back to him.

popular.info/p/how-a-right-…
10. Lots more on how Facebook outsourced its fact-checking to a right-wing magazine in my newsletter, Popular Information.

Sign up at popular.info
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TRUMP: "At the request of Democrats it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall."

What Democrat has requested a border wall made of steel?
TRUMP: "The border wall would very quickly pay for itself."

Absolutely no evidence of this. Trump cites the cost of illegal drugs, most of which come through official ports of entry.
TRUMP: "The wall will also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico."

This is not true. And the deal hasn't even been approved by Congress.
Read 4 tweets
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A total and humiliating capitation to a president with no interest in the truth.

The news media is supposed to inform the public.

They are now being used to disseminate government propaganda.
REMEMBER: When Obama wanted to address the nation on immigration, the networks refused to air it because they believe it would be "overtly political."

What a joke.

goo.gl/a8SSgT
The idea that a Democratic rebuttal or fact-checking will make this better is insulting.

If I break my arm and a doctor gives me a cast, I'm thankful.

If a doctor breaks my arm and hands me a band-aid, it's not a favor.
Read 3 tweets
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Any network that airs this live is knowingly participating in a disinformation campaign
Some conflicting info, but @JenniferJJacobs of Bloomberg says the networks will air this live

This show just how deeply the mainstream media misunderstands Trump and his tactics

@JenniferJJacobs This is what happened when Obama gave a primetime address on immigration in 2014
Read 4 tweets

Related threads

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🔥FACEBOOK🔥

@Facebook “used us for crisis PR...They are more interested in making themselves look good & passing the buck…I strongly believe that they are spreading fake news on behalf of hostile foreign powers and authoritarian governments.” ~@brooklynmarie

HT @ChiefCovfefe
Facebook was pushing reporters to prioritize debunking misinformation that *affected Facebook advertisers*, which @brooklynmarie thought crossed a line: “You’re not doing journalism anymore. You’re doing #propaganda.”🤬

Another fact-checker who has long worked on the #Facebook partnership said they were demoralized, saying that #Facebook is “a terrible company and, on a personal level, I don’t want to have anything to do with them.”🔥

#DeleteFacebook

amp.theguardian.com/technology/201…
Read 3 tweets
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Trump: Day 628
-Pens USA Today Op-Ed Filled w/Lies
-FBI Confirms WH Limited Kav Probe
-Taking Steps 2 Replace AG Sessions
-Seeks 2 Stifle White House Protests
-Promotes 'Junk Insurance' Offering
-DOW Plummets Another 831 Points
-Holds Campaign Rally in Erie, PA
Add...
Day 733 since Donald Trump admitted to sexual assault — yet he’s still in the Oval Office
Add...
Day 584 of NO EVIDENCE produced by Trump that his phones were tapped by Obama.

The FISA warrant Trump referenced targeted Carter Page. #TrumpLies
Read 66 tweets
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Why does Twitter deliberately target Right-wing accounts for Shadow-banning and why it will sooner rather than later completely back-fire and why they are ultimately going to destroy the Left and what a great day that will be. Thread. 1/15
It is no surprise Twitter targets accounts for “wrong think” or as we on the #Right like to call it “free-think” this is because of two events which are now totally and utterly inextricably linked, #Brexit and #Trump and the Establishment have been rocked to the core. 2/15
Neither of which were supposed to happen & yet they did now the Establishment is determined never to allow it to happen again or even at all, the reason for them happening was nothing to do with social media, but was to do with people knocking on doors and persuading others. 3/15
Read 15 tweets
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So this is interesting & let me tell you why.

@savethe8thinfo is apparently run (in part) out of Hungary.

Do you know who else is based in Hungary & heavily involved in the Anti Choice movement in both countries?

Jim Dowson. The money man behind Britain First.

Thread.
Some background on Dowson 1st. He was kicked out of the Orange Order in the 90s for being too extreme and was both heavily involved in both the BNP, and the loyalist flag riots in Belfast in 2010/11. He has several criminal convictions,
Aside from the aforementioned protest at the Mary Stopes Clinic in Belfast, were he was working with Youth Defence (who are behind the savethe8thinfo facebook page, Dowson has ties to Belfast Anti Choice activist Bernadette Smyth running the Scottish Chapter of "Precious Life"
Read 16 tweets
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Bannon “Trump is a blunt instrument.” [Vanity Fair: vanityfair.com/news/2016/08/b… ]
@chrisinsilico testimony: “you do not make money in the electoral work, you make money in the influence brokering after the fact.” Pg 8 data.parliament.uk/writtenevidenc…
Read 74 tweets
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#Facebook thread:
Ahead of Zuckerberg's Congress testimony, a quick revision guide.
All you need to know about Facebook (and why you should be concerned), brought to you by the Observer/Guardian's investigation into data and democracy...
Hard to believe it was less than a month ago that @carolecadwalla broke the story about GSR harvesting 50m+ Facebook profiles for @CamAnalytica to use in political campaigning:
Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica.. theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/…
Via the first major interview with @CamAnalytica whistleblower @chrisinsilico which explained Facebook had known about the leak for at least 18months and detailed Robert Mercer / Steve Bannon's central roles ‘I made Bannon’s psychological warfare tool’: theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/…
Read 26 tweets

Trending hashtags

#Control #Facebook #investigation #IBM #Hintze #Art #Democratic #Mercer #Facebookstock #architecture #Zuckerbergtestimony #Winning #Kavanaugh #COCIn2018 #IT #Collusion #mask #article #Wormholes #dataprivacy #sellout #SCL #UKLabour #FISAScandal #Reminder

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