A look at tech political advocacy group American Edge, founded by Meta, as it tries to create the appearance of grassroots opposition to antitrust reform
Records show Facebook-funded American Edge backed minority interest groups, conservative think tanks and small business groups to create … Tweets: @cat_zakrzewski , @jonscollins , @deborahblum , @cat_zakrzewski , @evan_greer , @jason_kint , @blmohr , @dlauer , @neil_chilson , and @jason_kint Tweets: Cat Zakrzewski / @cat_zakrzewski : “Facebook can't be the messenger,” said one source. “If we are out there saying it, people won't believe it as much, so the conversation is how can you set up a proxy.” Jon Collins / @jonscollins : “Facebook can't be the messenger...If we are out there saying it, people won't believe it as much, so the conversation is how can you set up a proxy.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Deborah Blum / @deborahblum : Astroturfing. Surprise: @Facebook quietly bankrolled small, grassroots groups to fight its battles in Washington https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Cat Zakrzewski / @cat_zakrzewski : NEW: Records show Facebook-funded American Edge backed minority business groups, conservative think tanks and small business alliances to create the appearance of grassroots opposition to antitrust regulation https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Evan Greer / @evan_greer : Big Tech astroturf is big tech astroturf, turns out https://t.co/j6k5MofX8j Jason Kint / @jason_kint : “With tremendous economic power also comes tremendous political power. It's a desperate effort to hold on to an ecosystem to give them monopoly power.” - @davidcicilline https://twitter.com/... @blmohr : “Records show Facebook-funded American Edge backed minority interest groups, conservative think tanks and small business groups to create the appearance of grassroots opposition to antitrust regulation” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Dave Lauer / @dlauer : This is not surprising, but important to keep in mind as more anti-trust regulation and legislation targets Big Tech. https://twitter.com/... @neil_chilson : Oh really? 40 paragraphs in, we find the parent org of Tech Transparency Project, which is dedicated to facilitating ad hominem attacks like this article, doesn't disclose its donors except when they find it useful. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... Jason Kint / @jason_kint : As I've said repeatedly, no one wants to be in the same room with facebook. They have negative value if you're in a situation where you relying on trust and are trying to make a point. https://twitter.com/...