Facebook employees blast Zuckerberg's decision to allow Trump's looting post
Numerous Facebook employees are giving CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision to allow a recent post by President Trump a dislike.
Staffers at the social media giant are publicly rebuking the company for taking no action against a recent post from Trump that Twitter flagged for violating its rules against glorifying violence, CNBC reports. "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," Trump wrote in a recent tweet and Facebook post about the Minneapolis protests over the death of George Floyd. While Twitter slapped the tweet with a warning and hid it, Facebook let the post stay online as is.
Jason Toff, a Facebook director of product management, tweeted, "I work at Facebook and I am not proud of how we're showing up." He added that "the majority of coworkers I've spoken to feel the same way."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Another employee, design manager Jason Stirman, tweeted that he "completely disagrees with Mark's decision to do nothing about Trump's recent posts, which clearly incite violence," while Ryan Freitas, a director of product design, wrote that "Mark is wrong, and I will endeavor in the loudest possible way to change his mind," and Andrew Crow, Portal head of design, said "giving a platform to incite violence and spread disinformation is unacceptable, regardless who you are or if it's newsworthy."
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan noted it was "incredible" to see Facebook employees rebuking Zuckerberg, as you "very rarely see Facebook employees speak out."
Zuckerberg on Friday defended his decision on Trump's posts, writing that "our position is that we should enable as much expression as possible unless it will cause imminent risk of specific harms or dangers spelled out in clear policies." Axios reports that Zuckerberg recently told Trump in a call that "he personally disagreed with the president's incendiary rhetoric and that by using language like this, Trump was putting Facebook in a difficult position."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strike
Speed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published