Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg takes ‘full responsibility’ for anti-Semitic smears by Republican oppo firm -- but won’t quit

The social media advertising company Facebook dumped news at 5 p.m. eastern on the night before Thanksgiving.

Facebook was responding to the controversy over their hiring of a Republican opposition research firm to smear critics as anti-Antisemitic.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg took responsibility for the scandal -- but did not announce her retirement.

Facebook head of communications and policy Elliot Schrage admitted that the corporate Goliath did hire Definers Public Affairs, an opposition research company founded and directed by Republicans.

"We hired Definers in 2017 as part of our efforts to diversify our DC advisors after the election," Schrage wrote in a statement.

Schrage also admitted the company asked Definers Public Affairs to do work against George Soros, but denied they asked them to "distribute or create fake news."

Sandberg took ownership of the scandal, but did not resign.

"I want to be clear that I oversee our Comms team and take full responsibility for their work and the PR firms who work with us," she wrote. "I truly believe we have a world class Comms team and I want to acknowledge the enormous pressure the team has faced over the past year."

Sandberg claimed, "it was never anyone’s intention to play into an anti-Semitic narrative against Mr. Soros or anyone else."

Yet, Sandberg only apologized for the distraction.

"I know this has been a distraction at a time when you’re all working hard to close out the year — and I am sorry," she wrote. "Thanksgiving seems like the right time to say a big thank you once again."