Over fifteen journalists describe covering Facebook, which they say lies on the record, has ghost-written op-eds, and received quote approval for interviews
One day in July 2016, Casey Newton, a tech reporter for The Verge, sat down at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park for the biggest interview of his career. Tweets: @mattrosoff , @silvermanjacob , @dseetharaman , @oliviasolon , @tonyromm , @michaelkpate , @william_fitz , @jeffbercovici , @benyt , @willoremus , @robhof , @campuscodi , @kerrymflynn , @silvermanjacob , @silvermanjacob , and @allmychandler See also Mediagazer Tweets: Matt Rosoff / @mattrosoff : Facebook is not the only tech company that works like this. These tactics are common throughout the industry, at companies of all sizes. Y'all. https://www.cjr.org/... Jacob Silverman / @silvermanjacob : I also wrote about leaks, how they can help provide accountability, and the lengths Facebook employees and journalists go to communicate with one another https://www.cjr.org/... https://twitter.com/... Deepa Seetharaman / @dseetharaman : @TonyRomm Yea I encountered a lot of these tactics when I covered autos in Detroit. Doesn't feel unusual & not sure why it would be. Companies want their narrative out there. Olivia Solon / @oliviasolon : Now do Apple https://twitter.com/... Tony Romm / @tonyromm : yea i couldnt help but think as i read this that this is basically true of all beat reporting involving a company. why did people even expect the tech industry to be different? that's really what i want to know. https://twitter.com/... Michael K Pate / @michaelkpate : I get the idea that the same thing could be written about @Naughty_Dog but the people that cover them are too afraid https://www.cjr.org/... William Fitzgerald / @william_fitz : The Google comms team operates in pretty much the same way the FB comms team operates. Imagine it's the same across the whole industry. It's been great to see reporters wise up to it in recent years. https://www.cjr.org/... Jeff Bercovici / @jeffbercovici : As a journalist who has covered Facebook I'm required by law to share this and mention the time multiple FB reps harassed me on my vacation bc a story about Sheryl Sandberg described a poster hung in a FB lobby https://www.cjr.org/... Ben Smith / @benyt : Some timeless lessons in this piece on Facebook and the press: Access is a curse; and it's fine/good if you're having the occasional screaming match with a PR person, it's both of your jobs https://www.cjr.org/... Will Oremus / @willoremus : I love that the author of this @CJR story (@SilvermanJacob) recognizes and points out that Facebook is using this tactic on him, even as he's reporting the piece about how they use it on tech beat reporters. https://www.cjr.org/... https://twitter.com/... Robert Hof / @robhof : Spies, Lies, and Stonewalling: What It's Like to Report on Facebook https://www.cjr.org/... via @cjr Or really most big tech companies, though some of this goes further than most. Catalin Cimpanu / @campuscodi : This is the most important article published today and shows a glimpse in the daily dealings with PR depts at large tech firms Facebook is not the only company employing these tactics. I've been lied and even scooped by some PR departments trying get ahead of certain topics https://twitter.com/... @kerrymflynn : I interviewed some reporters for a story like this, except about Uber, back at Mashable when I started covering the company more and was so thrown off by some PR reps' blatant lying. The main themes here feel so similar. https://www.cjr.org/... Jacob Silverman / @silvermanjacob : For @CJR, I talked to more than a dozen journalists about what it's like to report on Facebook. They described a flailing powerful company in perpetual crisis that challenges conventional forms of journalistic accountability. https://www.cjr.org/... Jacob Silverman / @silvermanjacob : This comment from @cwarzel, who lives far from Silicon Valley, stuck out: “More and more of the best journalism is going to be done without any help from Facebook.” After trying to deal with their comms shop for the last couple weeks, I can confirm. https://www.cjr.org/... Adam Chandler / @allmychandler : “Operating with the secrecy of an intelligence agency and the authority of a state government, Facebook has arrogated to itself vast powers while enjoying, until recently, limited journalistic scrutiny.” https://www.cjr.org/... See also Mediagazer