VP @ADL, Center for Tech & Society. Been called alarmist, a Cassandra, and “someone w/ the resume of a 70 yr old man”. Pro-democracy. Views my own. On Mastodon.
Jun 28, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
1/Can we talk about religion, abortion & the U.S. Constitution? A legal scholar told me that banning abortion doesn't contradict the "separation of church & state" idea, because it's not "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion. Here's the rub: It actually is. Follow along:🧵
2/In Judaism, protecting the mother's life is actually a religious duty (as I best understand from religious scholars who know far more than I). This article's a good explanation. So this begs the question: does my religion count when the 1st Amendment...3/theatlantic.com/family/archive…
Sep 13, 2021 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
1/ As I’ve long said, Facebook’s business decisions to prioritize some actors’ speech over others’ should concern us all. Lots of detail from internal sources in @JeffHorwitz piece. This was part of what I tried to address when I worked there (a thread). wsj.com/articles/faceb…2/ Despite both internal + external pressure to stop granting special treatment to political figures or other money-making "influencers", and despite knowing XCheck was highly problematic, FB continued to grow the program. FB's fingers on the scale of whose "speech" we see/hear.
Jul 14, 2021 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
1/ As one of the subjects in this book, I want to offer a few thoughts on the content, Facebook's response, my own personal story (yes, that part is somewhat self-indulgent), and the authors @sheeraf and @ceciliakang. A thread: harpercollins.com/products/an-ug…2/ On the book: by now it’s hard to dispute Facebook’s role in affecting discourse & democracy. But the authors spoke to more employees than any other account and show the receipts. The pattern of negligence, deflecting responsibility, choosing “company over country” is stark.
Jun 3, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1/ A few years too late, but important nonetheless. Maybe those things I wanted to do when Facebook hired me to lead elections integrity Ops for ads—hold politicians to the same standard as everyone else—will finally happen. As a reminder, I wrote about this after I left (thread)
2/ When I tried to ask if we could impose the same rigor of fact checking to political ads, I was shut down and cut out of all senior level meetings. Wrote about that here: washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/1…
Mar 11, 2021 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
This piece by @_KarenHao is a must read if you care about how Facebook effects democracy, and why the company has (intentionally) not tackled the core problems. I was hired just after the Cambridge Analytica scandal to help "fix it". A few observations 1/ technologyreview.com/2021/03/11/102…
When I was at Facebook, I couldn't understand why none of the things I tried to ask/do/explore--combating disinfo in political ads, building voter suppression plan--and was specifically hired to do were rejected or ignored. This paragraph confirms what I've been saying since. 2/
Feb 22, 2021 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
Important piece by @CraigSilverman & @RMac18. Facebook’s decisions on far-right content are political, not some grand defense of free speech or democracy. I’ve tried to point this out in pieces about my time working on election integrity at FB. (Thread) buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanma…
Facebook hired me in 2018 to head a new elections integrity team for ads. I put protecting democracy first, not political preservation. Sharing below pieces not to pat myself on the back, but to show how efforts failed because, as Buzzfeed shows, there was no political will. 2/
Aug 6, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
So much to unpack here, (a thread): 1/ Facebook is being used by our current President to undermine trust in the electoral process, and they continue to allow it to happen, unchecked. And their own employees are speaking up about the real dangers to our democracy. Bravo to them.
2/ Election results could take weeks, so we are in for a very dangerous period after Nov 3. How will FB react if Trump+his allies claim the results are rigged or lie about the results? If they refuse to fact check him now, why should we believe they will react differently then?
Sep 25, 2019 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
A few thoughts on the #WhistleblowerComplaint, from my former #CIA and #NationalSecurity lens, and having served three Presidents, both Democrat and Republican, (without any comment on this #POTUS, the actual allegations against him, or moves on #impeachment) :
1/Being a #Whistleblower in the Intel Community is never easy, & it almost certainly will affect your future. But we swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic”, & all Americans should be thankful to those who uphold that oath.
