FACEBOOK ON THE ROPES

Among the assertions in the Times article:
   - Facebook executives knew about Russian interference in the 2016 election while Zuckerberg and Sandberg were denying it.
   - When Apple ceo Tim Cook criticized the surveillance culture of Facebook and other tech giants, adolescent Zuckerboy ordered his executives to stop using iPhones.
   - Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is Facebook's mole in Washington. Coincidentally, his daughter happens to work for Facebook.
   - Facebook hired an "opposition research" firm -- the same sleazoids that pols use to dig up dirt on their opponents -- to deflect criticism from Facebook to rivals and critics.
   - Before testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee in September, Sandberg and her people manipulated committee chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) into defining the scope of the inquiry narrowly. They also cleverly made Google the villain by dragging Google and Twitter into the investigation and then publicizing Google's refusal to attend the session.

"Taxonomy Of Mismanagement"
This week, Brian Wieser, the highly-respected senior analyst at Pivotal Research Group, laid out a "taxonomy of mismanagement" at Facebook:

Objective Problems:
   - Failure to manage partners with respect to data privacy
   - Failure to follow up on data leaks (Cambridge Analytica) on a timely basis
   - Intentional and unintentional provision of flawed advertising metrics
   - Failure to take down illegal content on a timely basis
   - Failure to prevent distribution of illegal content
   - Failure to listen to NGOs/activists/politicians regarding Facebook’s unintended complicity in communal violence / genocide or political interference in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Philippines the Ukraine, the US and elsewhere from as early as 2013
   - Violations of advertising laws (the Fair Housing Act, Political Advertising Laws, gender/age-related job postings)

Subjective problems
   - Creation of a potentially toxic platform:
   - Enabling crimes committed by a user while the user broadcasts those crimes over
Facebook Live or elsewhere on the platform
   - Pre-GDPR enabling of various data management law violations in the US and European markets including Germany, Spain, France Holland and Belgium which could be due to an intentionally aggressive negotiating strategy rather than any unintended errors.

Other than that, they're doing fucking great.

Our Inexcusable Irresponsibility
According to a report in AdAge entitled, 'Advertisers Unfazed By Latest Facebook Bombshell'... "Facebook advertisers are once again turning a blind-eye to the issues plaguing the social media giant...The social network is unlikely to lose any marketing dollars despite being rocked by yet another scandal."

Talking about his clients, a managing director at an ad agency said, "It's kind of amazing that no one cares at all... All these companies are talking about purpose, and higher alignments for their brands, and not a single client has raised a red flag about any of this at Facebook."

While Facebook is being demonized, let's keep in mind who's funding all this sordid activity -- it's the ad industry. It is the money we keep pouring into Facebook that makes all this sleaze possible. If we had an ounce of responsibility we would say "no more." But, of course, we don't. We just hide behind Facebook's skirts and let them take the hits.

And where are the ANA and 4As on this? MIA as usual.

I'll tell you why. Because Chief Growth Officers need the money they get from selling Facebook ads to their clients. One might even say they'll "do whatever it takes to make money." Here's a question, Chief -- has Publicis stopped buying ads on Facebook? Or are you just another hypocritical bullshit artist?

Add to this the Washington politicians who use "opposition research" every election cycle but are now "shocked" by Facebook's adoption of their sleazy tactics.

I'm starting to think about getting cynical.

Privacy advocate: "No one ever told them they couldn't"

When the hell are we gonna tell them? Never forget that all this sleaze and corruption can be largely traced to one original sin: online tracking. Take away tracking of individuals online and so much of this squalid garbage evaporates.

Can't Make This Shit Up

While we're kicking Facebook around, just one more thing. In the past 12 months, Facebook has had to delete -- you ready? -- 2.8 billion fake accounts.

This year the spot is very different. It is a tribute to Elton John.

It's the kind of spot that is bound to be controversial in advertising circles. Transaction-oriented ad people will hate it because it has nothing at all to do with products or the company -- it is 100% borrowed interest. Brand-oriented ad people will love it because it is unforgettable and superbly crafted. Have a look and see what you think. Me? I love it.

Side Note For Music Geeks: All these years later, when I hear the lyric "...but, then again, no," I still want to punch Bernie Taupin.

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