Defiant Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook policy to allow false ads
- by Leona Burton
- in World Media
- — Dec 4, 2019
Zuckerberg had earlier defended the company's policy to run ads from politicians containing false or misleading claims, saying that Facebook did not want to stifle political speech.
"We have removed this content following a valid intellectual property claim from the rights holder, the BBC", a Facebook spokesperson said. When asked by CBS whether he'd been lobbied, Zuckerberg equivocated.
He added: "I think that people should be able to judge for themselves the character of politicians".
"Quite a whole lot of other folk occupy pretty hundreds of utterly different opinions", he acknowledged, repeating his stand that folk must "take into chronicle for themselves what politicians are announcing".
"And, you know, I don't think that a private company should be censoring politicians or news".
More news: Mike McCarthy named as possible replacement for Ron Rivera with the PanthersMark Zuckerberg said it is a "very complex issue" and believes people should be able to see what politicians have to say.
Similar fears have played out in the United Kingdom ahead of its general election this month.
The BBC had complained about the ad last week, arguing material involving some of its well-known presenters was taken out of context and could damage its impartiality.
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is being lashed again - and for the same reason, he was criticized profusely during the previous United States election campaign.
Facebook's latest figures show that the Tories spent more than £421,000 on Facebook ads over the past month, with £35,654 spent in the past week alone.
More news: Qualcomm kicks off Snapdragon Tech Summit, teases SD 865 and 765/765GSeveral US politicians, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have warned the 2020 presidential election will be heavily influenced by false claims posted on the social media platform for a fee - some have suggested Zuckerberg's recent White House meeting with Donald Trump may have unduly influenced his thinking on the subject.
But as always - the CEO of the world's leading social media network is brushing off all the negative vibes he is receiving for posting political ads without clarifying the content submitted by the politicians.
"We talked about a number of things on his mind".
NBC News reporter Ben Collins pointed out that the transparency Zuckerberg was celebrating apparently didn't extend to his refusal to reveal what the president said during their dinner.
"No. I mean, I don't think that that's".
More news: Ukraine leader says he didn't discuss 'quid pro quo' with Trump"When Mark and I talk about these issues together, I also have the lens of being an educator and pediatrician that's worked deeply with families and individuals in all types of communities", Chan said.
