Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Won’t Fact-Check Trump | Bitch Media
▻https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/mark-zuckerberg-says-facebook-wont-fact-check-trump-and-politicians
▻https://www.bitchmedia.org/sites/default/files/styles/facebook_ratio/public/open-graph/Mark+Zuckerberg%20social.jpg?itok=V9Rjp5zN
On May 26, Twitter finally fact-checked a Trump tweet about mail-in voting leading to rampant voter fraud. Because Twitter called his tweets “potentially misleading,” Trump responded by signing an executive order, saying that it will “defend free speech from one of the gravest dangers it has faced in American history.” Given that Facebook, along with Twitter, is a leading social media platform (and that the former has faced scrutiny for allowing disinformation to spread unchecked), The Daily Briefing host Dana Perino asked Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg about Twitter’s decision to fact-check Trump’s tweets. “I believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything people say online,” Zuckerberg said. “These platform companies shouldn’t be in the position of doing that. We’ve been pretty clear in our policy that we think it wouldn’t be right for us to do fact checks for politicians in that people should be able to hear what politicians say—there’s plenty of scrutiny about politicians’ speech already, that’s what the media does.” He continued, saying that Facebook is “really strong in favor of giving people a voice and free expression.” Apparently, free expression includes allowing politicians to spread lies with impunity.
At this point, it’s impossible to argue that social media is a neutral force. Millions of people use these platforms to connect, to learn about politics and other social issues, and to network with people who have similar interests, which means that millions of people—politicians included—are bringing their values to a public forum.