Facebook hired PR firm that wrote negative articles about rivals: NYT

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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on September 5, 2018. 

Facebook expanded its relationship with a Washington-based public relations firm last year that wrote dozens of articles critical of rivals Google and Apple and pushed the idea that liberal financier George Soros was behind a growing anti-Facebook movement, according to a scathing Wednesday report by the New York Times.

Facebook expanded its relationship with Definers Public Affairs in October 2017 after enduring a year’s worth of external criticism over its handling of Russian interference on its social network, according to the report.

The firm reportedly wrote articles that blasted Google and Apple while downplaying the impact of Russian interference on Facebook. Those articles were published on NTK Network, an affiliate of the firm whose content is often followed by politically conservative outlets, including Breitbart, the report says.

Definers Public Affairs also reportedly pressed reporters to explore Soros’ financial connections with groups that protested Facebook at Congressional hearings in July.

Facebook’s relationship with Definers Public Affairs were outlined as part of a broader report that looked at the company’s handling of numerous scandals over the past three years, including Russian interference and the Cambridge Analytica scandal in March. Other revelations in the report include Sheryl Sandberg’s apparent fury when former security chief told the board of directors in fall 2017 about the full extent of Russian interference on the platform, and Mark Zuckerberg ordering managers to use Android phones after Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized the company’s approach to privacy earlier this year.

Facebook did not immediately return requests for comment on the report.

Read the full New York Times report here.