let's talk about Facebook PR strategies. yes, they first "deny" and "deflect" (plug for @ceciliakang @sheeraf book) but if ultimately they have a major business risk, they proactively attempt to shift the controversy towards a battle they can either win or at least delay. /1

they did this with Cambridge Analytica by jumping press cycle, rushing Zuckerberg to DC, and making a researcher the fall guy who abused their platform (while his partner worked at FB) shifting narrative it was snake oil. I won't get into the holes in this narrative. /2

shortly after, a leak of an old Facebook memo from an executive shifted us towards talking about how FB connects people and whether this is healthy or not away from the underlying data/APIs of platform which had been leveraged to capture market power for FB. /3

with concerns around spread of harmful content, CEO Zuckerberg rushed a prominent speech at Georgetown to talk free expression and censorship (now having banned prominent accounts) to shift conversation away from algorithmic amplification which is their secret sauce. /4

Now, I caution on the "War with Apple." Facebook has a clear losing hand in any battle over privacy. FB is better off if public/industry debate is about war of 2 goliaths, antitrust and profits. This tells you why data protection/privacy rules are core to FB's toxic biz model. /5