Zuckerberg came in hard to defend the most significant social media platform in the globe. This was on Facebook’s policy of allowing politicians to lie in political ads. He also responded broadly on free speech in an address that he delivered at Georgetown University. He announced that he never saw it right for a private organization to censor politicians. Mark’s speech amounted to a cry for an immediate first amendment during a trying time when free expression rights were under siege. He noted that freedom of expression was no longer free across the globe. He went on to acknowledge that Facebook profits from misinformation. However, that was not the primary reason as to why the firm decided to permit misinformation to remain on its platform.
Zuckerberg noted that he had thought on whether to stop allowing sensitive political ads on the platform. He mentioned that from a business perspective, all the controversies mentioned by political leaders aren’t worth the small part of what the business makes up. However, political ads are crucial since they are a representation of people’s voices. He added that the ads played a significant role for local candidates and other upcoming challengers who do not have enough budgets to go campaigning from one location to another.
In the entire speech, Zuckerberg talked on the various policies that Facebook believes in. He noted that doing away with ads only favored few incumbents and whomever the media covered. The solution to all the menace was to censor or rather watch who is posting the content containing lies. Zuckerberg added that still, a person can say anything controversial. However, one has to stand firm and defend their content with a valid identity and also be accountable when it comes to user privacy.
These comments came at a time when Facebook was under fire for assisting politicians to spread rumors and lies. The social media platform is currently being investigated by 40 state attorney generals and the Justice Department for what is referred to as possible antitrust violations. Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley have pleaded that the firm should be broken up. Elizabeth has been firm with her decision and leading the campaign from the front. She has criticized the firm’s smooth permissive ad policies. She added that these ads had turned the social media platform into a ‘disinformation for-profit machine’. Elizabeth even made a false claim saying that Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg had already endorsed Donald Trump for re-election.
