NEW: On @pbsnewshour David Brooks addressed our reporting about Weave, its funding & lack of disclosure. He made at least two false statements incl. claiming Facebook funding was publicly disclosed. It wasn’t until we reported it. I’ll explain, you watch:
@pbsnewshour When asked about him taking funding from FB he says: "Yeah first we totally did disclose it because everything is public.”
False. Aspen’s 2018 funding report for Weave does not include FB: aspeninstitute.org/transparency/
He never mentioned FB funding in any columns or publicly.
False. Aspen’s 2018 funding report for Weave does not include FB: aspeninstitute.org/transparency/
He never mentioned FB funding in any columns or publicly.
The Facebook funding of Weave was made public in our report about Brooks writing a blog post for FB's corporate website. He never disclosed, nor did Aspen. Our first story revealing FB funding for Weave: buzzfeednews.com/article/craigs…
Second, Brooks says "The Aspen Institute is completely transparent about who the donors are, and so we released the donors."
False. The only info released is for restricted grants in 2018. I asked @AspenInstitute to release *all* donors for Weave and it has so far refused to.
False. The only info released is for restricted grants in 2018. I asked @AspenInstitute to release *all* donors for Weave and it has so far refused to.
Third, Brooks says, "I have not meaningfully written about any individual or organization who has supported us, including Facebook."
He leaves out that he wrote *for* FB.
Also: there's no way to prove this because @AspenInstitute
& @nytdavidbrooks won't release all donor info
He leaves out that he wrote *for* FB.
Also: there's no way to prove this because @AspenInstitute
& @nytdavidbrooks won't release all donor info
Brooks said the Times knew about Weave and his salary there when he started it. Maybe!
Fact: Times told us it *didn't* know Weave got FB funding, and refused to comment about what it knew about his funding & salary.
Our 2nd story: buzzfeednews.com/article/craigs…
Fact: Times told us it *didn't* know Weave got FB funding, and refused to comment about what it knew about his funding & salary.
Our 2nd story: buzzfeednews.com/article/craigs…
Here's the thing he did not address, and it's hugely important: Brooks *never* disclosed to Times readers that he took a salary at Weave. He *never* told Times readers who Weave has taken money from.
The fact he does not address or seem to think it's important speaks volumes.
The fact he does not address or seem to think it's important speaks volumes.
On Thursday I asked @AspenInstitute to release info about all Weave donors. It delayed and never said if it will.
Tonight @nytdavidbrooks falsely said all donor info is public. Now there's no excuse. Do what Mr. Brooks said you've already done and release it. You have my email.
Tonight @nytdavidbrooks falsely said all donor info is public. Now there's no excuse. Do what Mr. Brooks said you've already done and release it. You have my email.
If you want to read more background on the whole David Brooks mess, here's a previous thread:
https://twitter.com/CraigSilverman/status/1367260022154141700
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