The New York Times and Facebook Appear to Be Arguing

On November 14, 2018, The New York Times posted a lengthy article titled: “Delay, Deny and Deflect: How Facebook’s Leaders Fought Through Crisis”. Facebook responded on November 15, 2018, with a post of its own, titled “New York Times Update.” Later that day, The New York Times posted an article titled: “Facebook Cuts Ties with Definers Public Affairs Following Outcry.”

One thing that seems consistent between the posts from The New York Times and the Facebook response post is that Facebook ended its contract with Definers Public Affairs the day after The New York Times article was published. Definers is a Washington-based consultant that Facebook started working with in October 2017.

Both The New York Times and Facebook posts indicate that Facebook feels that Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Inc., has criticized Facebook. In its post, Facebook said it has encouraged its employees and executives to use Android. Personally, I don’t care what kind of phone Facebook workers use.

To me, it appears that Facebook and The New York Times are arguing with each other. I’m having difficulty finding reasons to care about this kerfuffle. It feels like a lot of drama about events that have already happened. The damage has already been done.

I’ve grown tired of the back-and-forth between news media and social media. It feels like both sides are doing little more than providing fuel for those who enjoy being outraged.