FACEBOOK CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG REJECTS TRUMP BIAS CLAIMS
FACEBOOK CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG REJECTS
TRUMP BIAS CLAIMS
The US president accused the social network of
"collusion" on Twitter, branding it "anti-Trump".
He made the same claim against the New York Times and the
Washington Post.
Facebook will shortly hand over 3,000 political adverts to
congressional investigators probing alleged Russian meddling in the US
election.
The site believes the ads were probably purchased by Russian
entities during and after the 2016 presidential contest.
Facebook, Twitter and Google have been asked to testify before
the US Senate Intelligence Committee on 1 November about the allegations of
Russian interference.
Facebook and Google have confirmed they have received
invitations to attend the committee hearing, but none of the social media
giants have yet said they will be present.
Mark
Zuckerberg has made it clear in the past that he doesn't like Donald Trump - or
at least, his policies.
This
statement shows frustration, I think. Not just with the president, but at the
atmosphere swirling around Facebook at the moment - commentary that is painting
it as a burden on the electoral process, and maybe even on society as a whole.
He's
trying to show all the good - as he sees it - that Facebook has done.
He
feels hard done by. And as a man obsessed by data and metrics, he's probably
looking at the problem of Russian-backed fake news ads and seeing it as a
minuscule part of all the election goings-on on his network of 2 billion
people.
But
it's not the scale that's the issue here - but his immature refusal to face up
to the public's concerns. It was less cover up, more cant-be-bothered.
Mark
Zuckerberg has surely by now realised that he must answer his users concerns,
even when he doesn't share them. His mistake may prove extremely costly - he's
boosted those calling for stricter regulation of internet companies.
He noted that
both ends of the political spectrum were upset about content they disliked, and
that liberals in the US had accused him of enabling Mr Trump's victory.
He
said the candidates' campaigns had "spent hundreds of millions advertising
online," which he called "1000x more than any problematic ads we've
found".
The
33-year-old said he regretted saying on the day Mr Trump was elected that it
was "crazy" to say that misinformation on Facebook changed the
election's outcome, because it sounded dismissive.
He
promised Facebook would "continue to build a community for all
people" - and to "defend against nation states attempting to spread
misinformation and subvert elections".
Mr
Zuckerberg's response attracted 65,000 "likes" within two hours of
being posted.
The
Kremlin has long denied any form of interference in the US election, and Mr
Trump has railed against allegations that his staff had improper links to
Russia.
However,
US intelligence agencies have concluded Moscow tried to sway the vote in favour
of Mr Trump. Congressional committees and an FBI inquiry are currently probing
the matter.
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