Mark Zuckerberg has addressed Facebook employees who were disappointed in the CEO’s decision to not flag or take down Donald Trump’s post that suggested the Minneapolis protesters be shot at.
In the memo shared publicly on Friday, Zuckerberg acknowledged the backlash and listed seven specific policies that he would be reviewing more carefully, one of them related to how Trump’s post was handled.
“I know many of you think we should have labeled the President’s posts in some way last week,” wrote Zuckerberg. “Our current policy is that if content is actually inciting violence, then the right mitigation is to take that content down — not let people continue seeing it behind a flag.There is no exception to this policy for politicians or newsworthiness. I think this policy is principled and reasonable, but I also respect a lot of the people who think there may be better alternatives, so I want to make sure we hear all those ideas.”
Although Zuckerberg mentioned he is furthering the discussion with his team, he shared his concern that looking for other alternative methods of censoring could lead to the company editorializing about content that does not actually violate policies. He said he plans to “proceed very carefully.”
Additionally, the CEO went on to address other policies including how the company would elevate representation of diversity, reviewing policies around voter suppression in the midst of a pandemic and building a voter hub to encourage voting efforts.
Zuckerberg ended his memo by assuring his staffers that he stands with the Black community.
“I stand with you,” Zuckerburg wrote. “Your lives matter. Black lives matter.”
Last weekend, Facebook staffers took to Twitter to voice their disagreement with Zuckerberg after he refused to take down or flag the controversial post in which Trump wrote, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” which many thought glorified violence. Protests against police brutality have occurred all across the U.S. and globally in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody last week.
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