Yes, Facebook made mistakes in 2016. But we weren’t the only ones. | Washington Post

From an Alex Stamos op-ed; also see Facebook deserves criticism. The country deserves solutions. | Washington Post

"Yet Facebook’s shortcomings do not stand alone. The massive U.S. intelligence community failed to provide actionable intelligence on Russia’s ­information-warfare goals and capabilities before the election and offered a dearth of assistance afterward. Technology companies can build tools and teams to look inward on their products, but they will never have true geostrategic insight or ability to penetrate hostile countries. This relationship has greatly improved in 2018, mostly due to the initiative of hard-working intelligence professionals. Our elected officials, however, can claim little credit. Lawmakers’ public grandstanding at investigative hearings stands in stark contrast to their failure to establish facts, effectively oversee the executive branch and provide for the common defense.

We must also remember that in the summer of 2016, every major media outlet rewarded the hackers of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) with thousands of collective stories drawn from the stolen emails of prominent Democrats. The sad truth is that blocking Russian propaganda would have required Facebook to ban stories from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and cable news — not to mention this very paper. Since the election of Donald Trump, print and television news organizations have staffed up and provided a critical service to Americans, but they have never adequately grappled with their culpability in empowering Russia’s election interference."

Yes, Facebook made mistakes in 2016. But we weren’t the only ones. | Washington Post