Davey Alba Explained

Davey Alba
Education:	De La Salle University (BA) Columbia University (MA)
Occupation:	Technology journalism

Davey Alba is a technology reporter who covers Big Tech for Bloomberg News,^[1] after previously reporting on online disinformation for The New York Times.

Early life and education

Davey Alba was born in Manila, Philippines, and attended De La Salle University, earning a degree in communication arts. Her father is an academic, mother an economic consultant and her sister is VP of a multi-national investment bank. She came to the United States at age 23^[2] in 2011. She studied at Columbia University and received a masters in science journalism.^[3]

Career

Alba's first job out of training was at Popular Mechanics; she was technology editor and got to test gadgets and phones.^[4] She worked as a technology reporter at BuzzFeed News, Wired and Gizmodo before joining The New York Times as a technology reporter in 2019.^[3] Her area of coverage was "disinformation and all of its tentacles."^[5] In March, 2022, she joined Bloomberg News, covering Google and Big Tech.^[1]

In 2018, working at BuzzFeed News, she reported how Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte used Facebook to gain power in the country.^[6] For the BuzzFeed News article on Duterte, Alba won two 2019 awards. She was awarded the Livingston Award for International Reporting, documenting how Facebook ignored fake news, fueled the Filipino drug war,^[7] and adversely impacted a vulnerable community^[2] by enabling Duterte to manipulate public opinion and win election.^[8] After Duterte won, the Facebook machinery of manipulating opinion became a state-sponsored one^[6] "to punish opponents, sometimes with death."^[7] She won the Mirror Award for Best Story for Journalism in Peril.^[9]

After reporting on videos supportive of President Trump's recommendation for the use disinfectants in the treatment of COVID-19,^[10] Davey was the target of "weaponized harassment." Davey reports that she was targeted as a reporter who is an immigrant, a woman and a person of color.^[11]

In September 2021, Alba interviewed incoming Wikimedia Foundation chief executive officer Maryana Iskander.^[12]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Roush . Chris . 2022-03-23 . Bloomberg hires Alba from NY Times to cover Google, Big Tech . 2022-09-27 . Talking Biz News . en-US.
2. Web site: This Pinay Is The New York Times' New Tech Reporter. 2020-08-16. Metro.Style.
3. Web site: 2019-07-19. Meet Our New Tech Reporter: Davey Alba. 2020-08-14. The New York Times Company. en-US.
4. Web site: Davey Alba, M.A. Program Alumna, Wins 2019 Livingston and Mirror Awards. 2020-08-14. apply.jrn.columbia.edu. en.
5. Web site: 2019-07-25. New York Times hires Filipina technology reporter. 2020-08-16. INQUIRER.net USA. en.
6. Web site: Duterte's Drug War And The Human Cost Of Facebook's Rise In The Philippines. 2020-08-14. BuzzFeed News. en.
7. Web site: 2019-06-04. 2019 Livingston Winners Announced. 2020-08-15. Wallace House. en-US.
8. Web site: 2019-11-19. Duterte's Facebook-Fueled Rise to Power: Manipulating Public Opinion to Capture an Election. 2020-08-16. The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. en.
9. Web site: Past Winners. 2020-08-16. Mirror Awards Newhouse School at Syracuse University. en-US.
10. News: Frenkel. Sheera. Alba. Davey. 2020-04-30. Trump's Disinfectant Talk Trips Up Sites' Vows Against Misinformation. en-US. The New York Times. subscription . 2020-08-16. 0362-4331.
11. Web site: 2020-05-21. NY Times reporter Davey Alba on covering COVID-19 conspiracy theories, facing online harassment. Lucy . Westcott . 2020-08-16. Committee to Protect Journalists. en-US.
12. News: Alba. Davey. 2021-09-23. Wikipedia's next leader on preventing misinformation: 'Neutrality requires understanding.'. en-US. The New York Times. subscription . 2021-09-23. 0362-4331.