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00:00FROM SPREADING OUTSIDE OF CHINA. TO DISCUSS, WE WILL BRING IN THE COFOUNDER OF ELEVATION PARTNERS, AND AUTHOR OF " WAKING UP TO THE FACEBOOK CATASTROPHE. " WE HAVE ROGER MCNAMEE WITH US. WE HAVE SEEN THE IMPACT ON APPLE, OBVIOUSLY MANY TECH COMPANIES WITH A BIG SUPPLY FOOTHOLD IN CHINA. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE IMPACT OF THE VIRUS WILL BE ACROSS THE TECH INDUSTRY? ROGER: I DO NOT THINK ANY OF US REALLY KNOW. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THIS WAS A DISEASE THAT THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD CONTAINED IN CHINA, SO PEOPLE WERE BREATHING A SIGH OF RELIEF. NOW IT HAS BROKEN OUT AND WE DO NOT KNOW. WE KNOW THIS IS MORE INFECTIOUS THAN MOST FLU TYPE VIRUSES. WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE PAST CORONAVIRUS IS LIKE SARS. BUT THE LAST ONES ALL HAVE BEEN WHEN CHINA ' S ECONOMY WAS A LOT SMALLER, AND WHEN OUR LINES OF SUPPLY TO CHINA WERE LESS INFLUENTIAL THAN THEY ARE NOW. I THINK THE MARKET ' S REACTION IS CORRECTIONAL AND THIS IS A SETBACK. WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE IT IS GOING TO MEAN. BUT IF YOU ARE A TECH COMPANY AND YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN STARTS THERE, YOU HAVE TO APPROACH THIS WITH CAUTION. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. AND WE ARE AT THE END OF 12 YEARS OF MARKET RUNS, SO WE CANNOT BE TERRIBLY SHOCKED IF THE MARKET ITSELF IS A LITTLE BIT FRAGILE TO A SETBACK LIKE THIS. I DO NOT KNOW IF IT WILL PRODUCE THAT, BUT SMART INVESTORS ARE LOOKING AT THIS LIKE THE KIND OF BLACK SWAN WE HAVE NOT SEEN FOR A WHILE. EMILY: ANYTIME YOU HAVE A ROCKY POLITICAL CLIMATE IN THE U.S., THE RACE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION NOW, BERNIE SANDERS CONFIRMING THAT HE HAD BEEN BRIEFED BY U.S. INTELLIGENCE AT THAT THE RUSSIANS ARE TRYING TO INTERFERE WITH HIS CAMPAIGN, YOU HAVE THE VICE PRESIDENT, JOE BIDEN, ON " 60 MINUTES, " CLAIMING THAT FACEBOOK IS BATTLING ACCOUNTS TIED TO RUSSIA THAT ARE TRYING TO ATTACK HIM. TAKE A LISTEN TO HIM. > > THEY ARE INVOLVED IN THIS RACE AND IN MY PRIMARY. THEY ARE GOING AFTER ME ON FACEBOOK. THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN DOWN, BECAUSE PUTIN KNOWS ME AND HE DOES NOT WANT ME TO BE PRESIDENT. EMILY: YOU WROTE THE BOOK ON FACEBOOK, YOU HAVE IN PART COVERED THE FALLOUT FROM RUSSIA ' S INTERFERENCE IN THE 2016 ELECTION. HOW WELL-EQUIPPED IS FACEBOOK AND TWITTER NOW TO COUNTER POTENTIAL INTERFERENCE AND CONTINUED INTERFERENCE? ROGER: I FEEL LIKE I AM ON A QUADRENNIAL VERSION OF GROUNDHOG DAY, BECAUSE EXACTLY THE SAME THINGS FROM 2016 HAVE ME FOCUSED ON THE DANGER THAT FACEBOOK POST FOR ELECTIONS, AND THEY ARE HAPPENING AGAIN FROM THE SAME PEOPLE. THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN HAS A SOPHISTICATED DISINFORMATION OPERATION THAT RUNS INTERNALLY. THERE IS A NETWORK AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ANALYZING , OF FANS OF BERNIE SANDERS. NOTHING HAPPENED AFTER 2016 THAT HAPPENED -- AFTER 2016 THAT SHUT THESE DOWN, SO THEY CONTINUE TO OPERATE WITHOUT CONSTRAINT. ON TOP OF THAT, YOU HAVE MICHAEL BLOOMBERG COMING IN WITH HIS OWN OPERATION WHERE HE IS FLOODING THE ZONE WITH ALL KINDS OF THINGS. THE RESULT OF THAT IS, EVEN IF THE RUSSIANS INTERFERE IT IS NOT CLEAR HOW MUCH IMPACT THEY WILL HAVE BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH NOISE ALREADY. THE CHALLENGE IS THIS KIND OF STUFF IS REALLY BAD FOR DEMOCRACY, WE ARE NOT ACTUALLY SEEING REAL ISSUES BEING DEBATED AT A POINT IN TIME WHEN THESE REALLY MATTER, THINGS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE, HEALTH CARE, WHEN THEY OUGHT TO BE COMMANDING CENTER STAGE. WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS DISINFORMATION CLOGGING THINGS. AND IT IS REALLY TOO BAD. PAUL: WE DO HAVE TO MENTION THAT MICHAEL BLOOMBERG IS SEEKING THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION. HE IS THE FOUNDER AND MAJORITY OWNER OF BLOOMBERG LP, THE PARENT COMPANY OF US HERE AT BLOOMBERG NEWS. BUT I DO WANT TO ASK TO WHAT DEGREE SOCIAL MEDIA AND FAKE NEWS, TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN, CAN THEY EVEN BE DISENTANGLED? ROGER: NOT AT PRESENT. THE REAL PROBLEM IS THE BUSINESS MODEL, WHICH IS BASED ON ATTENTION. THE WHOLE IDEA IS IN ORDER TO COMMAND ATTENTION, YOU WANT TO HIT THOSE EMOTIONAL WEAK SPOTS. FOR MOST OF THIS -- OF US THAT WILL BE FEAR AND OUTRAGE. THE BEST CONTENT FOR APPEALING TO THOSE THINGS, THINGS THAT PEOPLE REACT TO, WILL BE HATE SPEECH AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES. THE THINGS YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE DURING A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, PRICKLY DURING ANY KIND OF DEMOCRATIC ELECTION. AS LONG AS THE BUSINESS MODEL STAYS IN PLACE, GOOGLE, WITH YOUTUBE AND FACEBOOK WITH INSTAGRAM, ARE GOING TO BE A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER IN THESE ELECTIONS. PAUL: WHAT KIND OF MARK WOULD YOU GIVE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER SO FAR WHEN IT COMES TO ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS WE HAD IN 2016? I IMAGINE NOT A GOOD ONE. ROGER: FACEBOOK HAS MADE MANY SMALL CHANGES, LARGELY COSMETIC CHANGES, WHICH IS A LOT BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVE SEEN FROM GOOGLE. FOR ALL INTENSIVE PURPOSES WE HAVE SEEN NOTHING FROM GOOGLE. YOUTUBE IN PARTICULAR, AS WELL AS GAMING OF THE SEARCH ENGINE GOOGLE, THOSE WERE HUGE ISSUES IN 2016 AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING IN 2020. AT WHERE THEY TRIED TO DO A BUNCH OF THINGS, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN HELPFUL AND THE OBVIOUS THINGS THAT TWITTER SHOULD BE DOING, BECAUSE JOURNALISM, POLITICS AND CELEBRITIES ALL LIVE ON TWITTER, SO DISINFORMATION THERE AS AN AMPLIFYING EFFECT THAT IS REALLY DANGEROUS. AND TWITTER IS INCAPABLE OF DEALING WITH IT. EMILY: SO WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR 2020? WE HAVE THE CORONAVIRUS HAPPENING, WE HAVE POTENTIALLY MASSIVE ECONOMIC IMPACT, AND WE HAVE THE U.S. POLITICAL ELECTIONS HAPPENING AND WE DO NOT KNOW HOW THAT IS GOING TO TURN OUT, SO HOW DOES THAT IMPACT TO SOME OF THESE NAMES, ESPECIALLY THE BIG TECH NAMES AND THAT WE FOLLOW? ROGER: QUITE CLEARLY THE STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE IN PARTICULAR, WHERE THEY BASICALLY TAKE THE POSITION THAT THEY ARE EQUIVALENT TO A SOVEREIGN NATION, THEREFORE SHOULD NOT BE REGULATED, THAT HAS BEEN WORKING OUT FANTASTICALLY FOR INVESTORS. SO THE STOCKS UNTIL RECENTLY WERE TRADING AT HIGHS. THEY ARE PERSISTING IN THAT MODEL AND WILL, UNTIL A GOVERNMENT SHOWS IT IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO REGULATE THEM, AND NONE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IS ANYBODY ' S GUESS, BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS ,IN ALL PROBABILITY IT WILL TURN OUT NOT TO BE THE END OF THE WORLD FOR US, BUT THERE IS SOME MEASURABLE CHANCE THAT 12 YEARS INTO A MARKET CYCLE, WITH CHINA REPRESENTING SO MUCH LARGER PARTS OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND DEMAND, THAT IT WILL TURN OUT TO BE A BIG DEAL. IN AN ELECTION YEAR, IF YOU HAD SOME KIND OF DECLINING ACTIVITY, THAT WILL THROW THINGS IN THE AIR. WHAT IS CLEAR TO ME IS WE ARE NOT IN THE UNITED STATES ON A PATH THAT WILL LEAD US TO THE BEST ELECTION WE COULD HAVE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, AND IT MAKES ME INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATED BECAUSE I HAVE SPENT THREE YEARS TRYING TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE PROBLEM. BECAUSE EVERYONE, IT DOES NOT MATTER YOUR POLITICAL PARTY, WHAT YOUR PREFERENCES ARE, WE SHOULD ALL WANT TO HAVE ELECTIONS BE FAIR AND DECIDED BY AMERICANS BASED ON REAL ISSUES. WHERE WE ARE REALLY ADDRESSING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. BECAUSE THERE IS HUGE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY IN THESE PROBLEMS, BUT WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET TO THAT IF WE CANNOT HAVE AN HONEST CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING. EMILY: QUICKLY, I KNOW IT IS HARD TO BE CONCISE, BUT WHERE DO YOU PLACE YOUR BETS THEN FOR 2020, IF YOU ARE STILL INVESTING? ROGER: IT IS A GREAT QUESTION. I ' M IN A VERY CONSERVATIVE POSTURE BECAUSE I THINK WE ARE WITHIN A YEAR OVER THE END OF THE ECONOMIC CYCLE, AND I DO NOT TIME THINGS LONG ENOUGH TO PREDICT IT MORE FINALLY THAN THAT. I OBVIOUSLY DID NOT SEE THE CORONAVIRUS COMING, BUT I COULD SEE MANY OTHER THINGS GOING ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED WITH SOFTBANK AND ALL THAT. I HAVE A LARGE PERSONAL POSITION IN APPLE. AND I OWN OTHER STOCKS. BUT I THINK APPLE IS WELL-POSITIONED, NOTWITHSTANDING THE CORONAVIRUS, BECAUSE THERE IS DEMAND FOR THE PRODUCT AND THEY ARE ONE TECH COMPANY THAT ON AVERAGE IS BEING REALLY RESPONSIBLE. EMILY: INTERESTING GIVEN THEIR STRONGHOLDS IN CHINA. ROGER: IT IS AN ISSUE. IN THE LONGER TERM I REALLY LIKE IT. EMILY: OK ROGER MCNAMEE,

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Tech Market Is Fragile to a Setback Like Coronavirus, Says McNamee

Roger McNamee, Elevation Partners co-founder and author of 'Zucked', discusses the coronavirus impact on tech and election security on "Bloomberg Markets." (Source: Bloomberg)