Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a massive problem: misinformation. The CEO's social media empire has been publicly grilled in recent. Facebook has profited from the spread of holocaust denial and white supremacist misinformation for years.
However, a report from Intelligencer claims Mark Zuckerberg is integral to the spread of misinformation on Facebook. As “the company’s absolute dictator” backed by Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel, The Zucc reportedly allowed actual Fake News to spread.
Mark Zuckerberg misinformation deal
The Intelligencer reports that Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Jared Kushner and Donald Trump all met in 2019. Initially, the meeting was a discussion about Thiel’s latest cryptocurrency. However, the meeting quickly turned to helping Donald Trump’s re-election.
At the meeting, Zuckerberg and Kushner allegedly reached “an understanding”. The Facebook CEO allegedly agreed to “avoid fact-checking political speech”. This allowed the Trump campaign to make outlandish claims without any risk of being de-platformed. On the other hand, that same period would see the former president’s misinformation labelled by rival social media Twitter.
Zuckerberg’s deal allegedly came with the promise that the Trump administration “would lay off on any heavy-handed regulations”. In return, Facebook labelled alt-right publications like Breitbart and Daily Wire as “deeply reported and well-sourced” outlets.
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Facebook's future
Facebook's future is constantly under scrutiny. With Zuckerberg firmly set steering the wheel, Facebook is attempting to become less of a social media company. Instead, the platform hopes to be the centre of a real-life metaverse, a concept taken from sci-fi dystopia.
In the midst of that, Facebook has come under fire for its attitude towards teen users. Recent reports reveal that the company is well aware of its negative effects on teen girls’ mental health. Facebook’s top executives are aware of the effects apps such as Instagram have on kids. However, the company did not act on its findings.
Rep. Lori Trahan said in a statement:
“Facebook’s internal documents show that the company’s failure to protect children on Instagram – especially young girls – is outright neglect, and it’s been going on for years.”
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