“Meeting new people and hearing from a
wide range of viewpoints is part of learning,”
Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. “If you
haven’t tried it, I suggest you do!”
Facebook has fought allegations since the lead-
up to the 2016 presidential election that it’s
not doing enough to stop bogus accounts and
political ads on its platform.
Those charges are surfacing again ahead of the
2020 election, with Democratic candidates Joe
Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren demanding
that Facebook remove Trump campaign ads that
make false claims.
After Facebook refused to remove the ad saying
that it’s not a political gatekeeper, Warren paid for
a fake political ad that claimed Zuckerberg and
Facebook have endorsed President Donald Trump.
The ad states in the next sentence that it’s not true.
Pressure on the social media platform is escalating
as the 2020 general election approaches.
Biden said that he’d be open to breaking up
Facebook. Sen. Kamala Harris of California has
said she’s would consider new controls on the
tech giant.
Facebook faces the risk of more accusations
of political bias by blocking or suspending
accounts, but also of creating a toxic online
environment by doing nothing to remove bogus
political ads and groups.
Research has revealed that millions of people
get at least some political news on social
platforms. A Pew Research Center survey
found that a majority of American adults
believe the news they see on such platforms
are largely inaccurate.