SWITCHING SIDES

Facebook Employee Who Helped Elect Trump Now Working to Vote Him Out of Office

In a series of interviews with the Wall Street Journal, the tech guru explained how he helped the Trump campaign leverage Facebook’s tools to extend its reach.

A young tech guru working for Facebook who became the go-to person for the Trump campaign to help maximize its reach during the 2016 election has now switched sides to help get him out of office. James Barnes spoke with the Wall Street Journal over the last three weeks to detail how he helped guide the Trump campaign to use Facebook tools and products to Trump’s advantage. Barnes left Facebook this spring, and says he is now dedicated to using the same digital-ad strategies he helped Trump exploit to get him out of office in 2020. Barnes told the Journal that he felt pressure while at the company and described in detail how he felt Facebook’s role helped launch Trump to victory. While he says he remains supportive of Facebook’s mission, he said he is uneasy about the reach of the company’s political influence. He told the paper the one question that nags him about his time with Facebook is, “Did I actually do the right thing?”