Zuckerberg rejects Donald Trump’s claim of Facebook bias

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has hit back at Donald Trump after the US President claimed the social networking site was against him.

Zuckerberg responded with a Facebook post, saying his site had helped generate discussion of a number of topics during the election, that efforts by the company had encouraged “as many as 2 million people” to register to vote, and that the site had not taken sides.

“Trump says Facebook is against him,” Zuckerberg said. “Liberals say we helped Trump. Both sides are upset about ideas and content they don't like. That's what running a platform for all ideas looks like.”

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Zuckerberg also said that he regretted minimising the significance of false news carried by the site.

“After the election, I made a comment that I thought the idea misinformation on Facebook changed the outcome of the election was a crazy idea,” he said. “Calling that crazy was dismissive and I regret it.”

Facebook’s impact on the outcome of the election “has faced close scrutiny in recent weeks following the company’s disclosure that a Russian-based influence operation had purchased $100,000 in ads to promote divisive political and social messages during the presidential campaign,” The Guardian reports.

Along with Twitter and Google, Facebook will testify next month before the US Senate Intelligence Committee about allegations of Russian interference.