CLOWNS SUE FACEBOOK

Well, the idiots are on the warpath. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, a lawsuit filed by some advertisers claims that Facebook lied about its video metrics.

Sue Facebook for lying? You might as well sue fish for swimming.

According to The Journal, "Facebook told some advertisers that it likely overestimated average time spent watching videos by 60% to 80%. The plaintiffs alleged...that the error was much larger and that the average viewership metrics had been inflated by some 150% to 900%." 

The lawsuit also alleges that Facebook knew its numbers were crooked for over a year before it disclosed them.

Eighty-five newsletters ago, when Facebook's bogus metrics started to become headlines, I wrote..."I predict Facebook will not just continue to stonewall but will actually make it harder for advertisers to get at their real numbers. Why? Because they're hiding stuff and they will fight to the death rather than give it up. Remember, you read it here first."

Two things you can rely on with Facebook:
   1. They never reveal unpleasant truths unless forced to.
   2. When they are caught, their first statement will never be accurate and another shoe will always drop.

Here's the story. In 2017, the lemmings in news media management rose up as one to declare their rebirth strategy: "Pivot To Video." It was a clarion call that echoed throughout the land.

What did it mean? It meant replacing online print/text reporting with short video clips. In practical terms it meant firing journalists and hiring kids with video cameras. It was a disaster.

It wasn't just a disaster for the media, it was also a disaster for hundreds of trained reporters and editors who lost their jobs.

Now a report out of Harvard says that media big shots who implemented the "pivot to video" nonsense are blaming Facebook's phony video metrics for leading them into temptation -- as if they don't have a responsibility to know their own freaking business.

Once again, the "pivot to video" demonstrates that there is no bigger sucker than a gullible marketer convinced he's missing a trend.

The Times said that Facebook and its pals in the black hole of social media "have all the tools at their disposal and a profound responsibility to find exactly what journalists find — and yet, clearly, they don’t... And unlike journalists, (they) have the power to change the very incentives that keep producing these troubling online phenomena....The reliance on journalists’ time is particularly paradoxical given the damage that the tech companies are doing to the media industry." Amen.

Last month reports emerged that Royer was working for DDB on its VW pitch. When Adweek heard that Royer was working for DDB they called DDB's global ceo, Wendy Clark to confirm it. She globally denied it --  there was "no consideration to having Ted at DDB/NY" and the "same answer stands for the pitch."

Here's the fun bit. Not only is Clark DDB's global ceo, she was also on the leadership committee of TimesUpAdvertising, an organization whose mission is to advocate for "more balanced, diverse and accountable leadership." If one of the leaders of TimesUp was secretly employing the talents of someone supposedly not conducive to an "inclusive environment" and then lying about it to the press, one could say that might constitute global bullshit.

This week, Adweek came up with information indicating that Clark's original denial was indeed a load of crap. They reportedly tried to get hold of her, but couldn't. However, a few hours later DDB suddenly issued a statement that contradicted Clark's earlier denial. DDB said that Royer had worked on the pitch. Clark then resigned her post at TimesUpAdvertising.

If this is "accountable leadership," I'd hate to see what irresponsible horseshit looks like.

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