Hold Facebook Accountable

Facebook spreads COVID disinformation, promotes violence; causes depression and meddles with elections. How does it get away with such disgusting corporate behavior ? Follow the money and Facebook's connections.

Who are Facebook's biggest investors? What are their declared values? Who is on the Facebook Board of Directors? How many Republican operatives work at Facebook? What harm is Facebook causing? This mind map created with the free Kumu app connects the dots.

This mind map can be freely shared with this link https://Dem-Labs.kumu.io/hold-facebook-accountable or be embedded in a website with this line of code:

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Republican operatives lead Facebook

Joel Kaplan, the vice president of global public policy. Kaplan is a longtime Republican functionary, who participated in the notorious “Brooks Brothers” riot to stop the vote recount in Florida during the 2000 election and later served as deputy chief of staff under George W. Bush. "The right has won a major victory in its campaign to cow Facebook. To placate his right-wing critics, Zuckerberg elevated some prominent conservatives into positions of power, most notably Joel Kaplan, the vice president of global public policy." - The Nation

"Kaplan was a strategic hire for Facebook, which has weathered attacks from conservatives who believe the company suppresses their voices due to a liberal slant among employees. People close to Kaplan told The Wall Street Journal that he is not a Trump supporter, but more of a traditional conservative. But his appearance at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s congressional hearing on sexual misconduct allegations last year stirred up Facebook employees who were angered by Kaplan’s apparent show of support for the accused judge." - CNBC

Major investors ignore Facebook's bad behavior

Wall Street firms are majority Facebook investors but do nothing to curb Facebook even as it contradicts their public stated values.

BlackRock values - "We are committed to a better future. We are focused on helping people build a better tomorrow. We are deeply invested in the success of all of our stakeholders – our clients, our employees, our shareholders, and the communities where we operate – and we run our business sustainably and responsibly."

Vanguard principles - "We do the right thing. In the end, it's not about us at all. Simply put, serving our communities is the right thing to do. We are stronger together, connected by our belief in integrity, focus, and, of course, stewardship.

T. Rowe Price values - "Guided by a core set of values, we’re committed to creating positive change in our communities and beyond. At T. Rowe Price, we’re more than associates. We’re volunteers, donors, educators, grant makers, and environmentalists. "

State Street Values - "As a responsible corporate citizen, we’re focused on conducting business in a transparent, ethical manner. We aim to create long-term value — for our clients, employees, shareholders and communities."

Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls

"Its own in-depth research shows a significant teen mental-health issue that Facebook plays down in public. For the past three years, Facebook has been conducting studies into how its photo-sharing app affects its millions of young users. Repeatedly, the company’s researchers found that Instagram is harmful for a sizable percentage of them, most notably teenage girls. Among teens who reported suicidal thoughts, 13% of British users and 6% of American users traced the desire to kill themselves to Instagram, one presentation showed.

“We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from 2019, summarizing research about teen girls who experience the issues. Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” said another slide. “This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups.” - WSJ

Facebook spreads COVID disinformation

"The most-viewed Facebook link was a news article with a headline suggesting that the coronavirus vaccine was at fault for the death of a Florida doctor. The headline of the article, from The South Florida Sun Sentinel and republished by The Chicago Tribune said “A ‘healthy’ doctor died two weeks after getting a COVID-19 vaccine; CDC is investigating why.”

This link was viewed by nearly 54 million Facebook accounts in the United States. Many commenters on the post raised questions about the vaccines’ safety. Six of the top 20 sharers came from public Facebook pages that regularly post anti-vaccination content on Facebook, according to data from CrowdTangle, a social media analytics firm owned by Facebook. Months later, the medical examiner’s report said there wasn’t enough evidence to say whether the vaccine contributed to the doctor’s death. Far fewer people on Facebook saw that update.

“You can’t trust a report that is curated by a company and designed to combat a press narrative rather than real meaningful transparency,” Mr. Boland said. “It’s up to regulators and government officials to bring us that transparency.” - NY Times

Have them live up to their values

RULE 4: “Make the other side live up to its own book of rules.” Their very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.
RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

Rules For Radicals - Saul Alinsky

TakeAway: Hold public corporations like Facebook, their directors and investors accountable. Their executive's politics should not guide corporate policies that jeopardize public health and democracy.

Deepak
DemLabs