I don't believe for a second that this was unintentional. The amount of press and mind share that Facebook has received for their "rocketing video efforts that rival YouTube" was totally worth pissing off some ad exec. Very few people will see this news compared to "Facebook dominates video" headlines that have been everywhere. This was a smart play on their part.
While your point is very fair, a long track record of behavior which pushes the boundaries of ethics becomes indistinguishable from malice. In these matters, people always judge you more harshly if you have taken advantage of their trust (many many times in FB's case) in the past.
Facebook wants to have the cake (the hype surrounding its success to be a self-perpetuating thing) and simultaneously eat it too (always expecting the benefit of doubt around its integrity around its self-reported success metrics).
While I welcome people with means doing philanthropy, I can't help but wonder if the recent announcement of philanthropy from Mark Z is an attempt to generate good press. If Mark Z is so keen on doing charity, perhaps he should divert all that money to the top 10 privacy watchdogs in the world. In today's world, that is as much a just cause as any other, particularly because no one really wants to talk about it.
Note: I am not saying the other tech giants don't indulge in these practices. Two wrongs can't make a right.
