Podesta Emails Reveal Facebook Colluding With Clinton

As the Trump presidency rolls on, social media companies have been demanded by U.S. lawmakers to disclose how their platforms were allegedly used in the 2016 election. Emails published from Wikileaks (among hundreds leaked beginning October 7, 2016)  show Facebook executives in direct with John Podesta,  former campaign chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

Image from nypost.com

In an email from early January 2016, Podesta wrote to Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, saying that he was excited to work with her on getting Clinton elected.

“Look forward to working with you to elect the first woman President of the United States,” Podesta wrote. Sandberg replied she was “thrilled” by the progress that Clinton was making.

In February 2015, Podesta was copied on an email from Clinton aide Cheryl Mills, who said she had arranged for Sandberg and her researcher to visit the office and “step through the research on gender and leadership by women.”

In June 2015, Sandberg wrote an email to Podesta, saying she would “still want HRC to win badly.” “I am still here to help as I can. She came over and was magical with my kids,” Sandberg wrote.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and founder of Facebook, sent a personal email to Podesta in August 2015, saying he enjoyed spending time with him, and that their conversation gave him “a lot to think about.”

Zuckerberg thanked Podesta for sharing his experiences with the Center for American Progress (CAP), a Democratic think tank founded by Podesta.

Included in the thread was an email to Podesta from Elliot Schrage, the vice president of communications at Facebook, who said Zuckerberg was looking for a way to “direct his wealth to have an impact as great as Facebook” adding that Podesta’s ideas had “really moved his thinking.”

Zuckerberg then asked Podesta if he could reach out in the future to hear his ideas and said he was looking forward to continuing their conversation.

“I hope it’s okay if I reach out as my thinking develops to get your ideas and reactions,” Zuckerberg said. “If there are any other folks you think I should talk to, please let me know.”

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References

RT International. (2017). Podesta emails showed Facebook colluded with Clinton, Assange reminds. [online] Available at: https://www.rt.com/usa/404971-assange-facebook-podesta-collusion/#.Wc49PRNVux0.twitter [Accessed 3 Oct. 2017].

Wikileaks.org. (2017). RE: At a loss for words - WikiLeaks. [online] Available at: https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/19070 [Accessed 3 Oct. 2017].

Wikileaks.org. (2017). RE: Happy New Year - WikiLeaks. [online] Available at: https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/56638 [Accessed 3 Oct. 2017].

Wikileaks.org. (2017). Re: Thanks - WikiLeaks. [online] Available at: https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/50406 [Accessed 3 Oct. 2017].