Everyday users of Facebook will have no doubt come across many of their conversations on the platform censored under the guise of being “misinformation” or even “hate speech.” But despite Facebook’s rampant censorship of the platform, there are many who call for the company to do even more.
The beneficiaries and employees of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s charity foundation are attacking him for not censoring “misinformation”. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is a multi-billion charity foundation that funds a wide range of projects in areas such as education, health, and energy.
In an open letter, several CZI-funded scientists noted their discontent with the social platform’s condoning of misinformation. The letter has now been signed by more than 270 people.
The letter was the idea of Marin Kampmann, a scientist funded by the CZI, who said, “There’s a long history of misinformation at Facebook that has had a negative impact on democracy and society, not only in the U.S. but around the world.”
Jason Shepherd, another beneficiary of CZI, said that the letter was the first step as they were brainstorming ways to strong-arm Zuckerberg to take steps towards solving what they see as an issue with hate speech and misinformation.
“Now that there’s more and more pressure, one option is for us to have actionable items,” said Shepherd. “We urge you to consider stricter policies on misinformation and incendiary language that harms people or groups of people, especially in our current climate that is grappling with racial injustice.”
Employees of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital also expressed their support for the letter. The hospital took Zuckerberg’s name after he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated $75 million in 2015. However, since then, there have been talks about removing the name. The allegedly lax misinformation policies of Facebook are making the argument for removing the name stronger.
Through public health, Zuckerberg’s reputation was beginning to improve with the media. He even held several discussions on his Facebook page with experts regarding the company’s role in fighting COVID-19 misinformation.
But Zuck went back into the media’s bad book when Facebook failed to flag a post by Trump saying, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” in relation to some of the George Floyd protests that had turned violent. Liberals, civil rights activists, and even Twitter deemed those remarks as glorifying violence.
Zuckerberg’s stance of perceived political neutrality has faced criticism from multiple fronts. Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout. Currently, there’s a boycott by advertisers on the platform, which is supposed to last a month or longer if Facebook does not act accordingly.
Now his own charity is adding to the pressure.
“Although the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a philanthropic organization that’s entirely separate from Facebook with its own mission and team, we understand that for some there is frustration in feeling like CZI’s work is being impacted by an organization for which they don’t work,” said a representative of the charity.
Zuckerberg is no stranger to negative criticism. But so far, this is the most intense pushback he has faced.
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