Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday said he was worried about the “erosion of truth” but defended the social media giant’s policy of allowing politicians to peddle advertisements that contain misrepresentations and lies, The Washington Post reported.
“People worry, and I worry deeply, too, about an erosion of truth,” Zuckerberg told the newspaper in an interview. “At the same time, I don’t think people want to live in a world where you can only say things that tech companies decide are 100% true. And I think that those tensions are something we have to live with.”
Zuckerberg said it was a matter of freedom of expression. He warned about the dangers of social media firms such as Facebook “potentially cracking down too much”. Zuckerberg asked the United States to set an example for tailored regulation in contrast with other countries, including China, that censor political speech online. The Facebook chief said the company must take a strong stance against governments that seek to “pull back” on free speech.
Next week, Zuckerberg will testify at a US congressional hearing where Facebook’s business practices will be reviewed.
Earlier this month, the Democratic Party objected to Facebook’s decision to allow an advertisement from President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, which included dubious statements about former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Biden is a contender for the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency. However, Facebook rejected the Biden campaign’s request to take down the advertisement.
In response, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren ran her own promotional, claiming that Zuckerberg supports Trump for re-election in 2020.
Trump has accused the Bidens of corruption. An impeachment inquiry is underway against him after transcripts released last month showed that he had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens for corruption. On October 4, he also asked the Chinese government to investigate the former vice president and his son.
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