As Facebook’s disinformation and privacy challenges rose, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg obscured warnings and tapped Washington lobbyists to deflect criticism, according to interviews with over 50 people nyti.ms/2DDWFTC
In one meeting, Sheryl Sandberg appeared angry that Facebook's security chief had told the company's board that the network hadn't yet contained Russian disinformation.
"You threw us under the bus!" Sandberg yelled, according to people who were present. nyti.ms/2DDWFTC
"You threw us under the bus!" Sandberg yelled, according to people who were present. nyti.ms/2DDWFTC
The deflection effort included an aggressive lobbying campaign, overseen by Sheryl Sandberg, to combat Facebook’s critics, shift public anger toward rival companies and ward off damaging regulation nyti.ms/2DDWFTC 
An example of deflection: After the Cambridge Analytica breach, the conservative news site NTK posted articles blasting Google and Apple. It was deliberate: NTK is an affiliate of Definers Public Affairs, a firm hired by Facebook to monitor press coverage nyti.ms/2DDWFTC
In an interview, Tim Miller, who argued for opposition research and led a Definers office, acknowledged that Facebook and Apple do not directly compete. The firm had attacked Apple, he said, because Tim Cook’s criticism had upset Facebook. nyti.ms/2DDWFTC
Facebook's deflection strategy also included appeals in Washington. In at least one instance, the company relied on Senator Chuck Schumer to intervene in congressional criticism of Facebook. nyti.ms/2DDWFTC
Facebook declined to make Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg available for comment but in a statement, a spokesman said Facebook acknowledged it had been slow to address challenges but had since made progress fixing the platform nyti.ms/2DDWFTC
