Thread by @markscott82

POLITICO was one of several news organizations w/ access to internal @Facebook docs that outlined the tech giant’s role in everything from Jan 6 riots to fomenting violence worldwide. We’ve just published our first set of stories.

A thread <<cracks knuckles>>

@Facebook .@JohnHendel delved into how Facebookers weren’t happy w/ how the company had handled things over the years. “We really need to get over our reluctance to stand on the side of truth and reality,” one said in late 2020. politi.co/3mbCeCE

@Facebook @JohnHendel .@Ali_Lev looked at how FB was caught wrong-footed when rioters attacked Capitol Hill. The company was not ready to tackle harmful content that didn’t technically break FB’s rules politi.co/3Cfn0lo

@Facebook @JohnHendel @Ali_Lev .@leah_nylen went the #antitrust route: FB told regulators worldwide it had competition from @tiktok_us & others. But inside the company, researchers knew it was dominant, even w/ younger social media users politi.co/3CroJVb

@Facebook @JohnHendel @Ali_Lev @leah_nylen @tiktok_us .@JuliaArciga & @SusannahLuthi looked at how politically-motivated fake accounts spread like wildfire, even when FB knew such activity was going on politi.co/2ZlVSTv

@Facebook @JohnHendel @Ali_Lev @leah_nylen @tiktok_us @JuliaArciga @SusannahLuthi .@birnbaum_e took a hard look at how senior FB public policy officials got involved directly in deciding what potentially harmful content should be allowed to stay on the social media giant — including posts associated with politicians politi.co/3b6f8ab

@Facebook @JohnHendel @Ali_Lev @leah_nylen @tiktok_us @JuliaArciga @SusannahLuthi @birnbaum_e And, finally, I took a crack at how @Facebook failed to protect people in the some of world’s most violent countries (in Middle East & Central Asia) by failing to invest enough resources locally and quell relgious/sectarian hate speech politi.co/2ZovBUE

@Facebook @JohnHendel @Ali_Lev @leah_nylen @tiktok_us @JuliaArciga @SusannahLuthi @birnbaum_e Other media organizations have done great work on this (HT: @JeffHorwitz for getting the ball rolling on his cracking #FacebookFiles scoops).

There are more stories to come in the coming days/weeks. Stay tuned.

It’s been a busy day. Proud of POLITICO’s coverage of #FacebookPapers. But lots of other good coverage out there, too, and not just in English. Check out this from @katieharbath for a recap of what’s been published, and by which outlets 👇

https://twitter.com/katieharbath/status/1452635534338179082