Mark Zuckerberg Hires Post Truth Pioneer, Campbell Brown, to Fight Post Truth in Social Media
Why in the world would Mark Zuckerberg choose Campbell Brown to lead its News Partnerships team, and its effort to deal with today’s version of Truthiness? Perhaps he is following the dictum of “it takes one to know one.” Brown is the co-founder of The 74, the education media company which supposedly combines journalism with advocacy because “not every story has two sides.” Since she is a proven practitioner of “Post Truth” union-bashing, maybe Zuckerberg thinks Brown will be able to best identify fact-free social media feeds from Vladimir Putin.
Did Zuckerberg think through even the most basic questions that a journalist would ask when distinguishing between fact and Post-Fact? I wonder if he was aware of the background information that the New York Times was bound to report about his choice, such as, “Ms. Brown has emerged as a major player in the pitched political battles over charter schools, prominently clashing with teachers’ unions while coming out against teachers’ tenure.” The Times’ Jim Rutenberg and Mike Isaac add:
Some commentators noted Ms. Brown’s ties to the Republican donor Betsy DeVos, Mr. Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Education. Ms. DeVos’s family foundation funds The 74, an education-focused journalism site co-founded and led by Ms. Brown. In a post to the site on Friday, Ms. Brown said she was stepping away from her daily editorial role at The 74, but will remain on the company’s board of directors.
Brown also serves on the board of DeVos’ the American Federation for Children.
Although Brown didn’t mention this inconvenient truth when she wrote in support of DeVos, her endorsement of the nominee demonstrated the mindset that she will bring to Facebook. Brown said that DeVos’ “attackers needlessly reopen late-NCLB fault lines and deepen the clamor that follows Trump everywhere.” Moreover, “just about everyone who has spent time alongside her during the past 30 years,” would dispute the idea that “Betsy’s work with children is ideologically or financially driven.”
It wouldn’t have taken much googling for Zuckerberg to find the work of the widely-respected Jennifer Berkshire, and read what she was told by a journalist who Mark Zuckerberg Hires Post Truth Pioneer, Campbell Brown, to Fight Post Truth in Social Media | The... - Linkis.com: