Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook Moves to Ban Holocaust Denial Content
Mark Zuckerberg is finally taking some responsibility for how his platform impacts the culture at large. After blocking misinformation from Trump, cracking down on election interference, and banning QAnon, Facebook is now moving to ban Holocaust denial content. Advocacy groups have for years called on Zuckerberg, who himself is Jewish, to take control of posts and groups denying the Holocaust. In 2018, the Facebook CEO said he resisted such demands on grounds of freedom of speech, particularly the difference between simply being incorrect and stirring hatred or violence. “I don’t think that they’re intentionally getting it wrong,” Zuckerberg said at the time. However, he’s now reversed course, announcing that Facebook’s updated hate speech policy will include anything “that denies or disto...
Nigerian doctor named one of TIME’s Most Influential People in the world
TIME named Nigerian physician Tunji Funsho to the 2020 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes are available now at time.com/time100, and Mr Funsho’s TIME100 profile is available here. The list, now in its seventeenth year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals. Mr Funsho, a cardiologist based in Lagos, Nigeria, is the first Rotary member to receive this honour for the organisation’s work to eradicate polio, having played an essential role in ensuring Africa’s certification as wild polio-free in August of 2020. “I’m honored to be recognized by TIME for my part in ensuring that no child in Africa will ever again be paralyzed by wild polio, a disease that once disabl...
Selena Gomez Shares Private Message to Facebook Leadership on Hate, Racism: ‘We Have a Serious Problem’
Selena Gomez, one of the most influential stars on social media, went public Friday night (Sept. 18) with a private message she sent to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Gomez, who counts 193 million followers on Facebook-owned Instagram and more than 77 million on Facebook, posted the message on Instagram Stories, calling out the Facebook founder and CEO and Sandberg, chief operating officer, with a plea to start a dialogue on the hot button issues of misinformation and hate speech. “We have a serious problem. Facebook and Instagram are being used to spread hate, misinformation, racism, and bigotry,” she wrote, two days after a significant push by stars like Kim Kardashian, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Ruffalo, Dwyane Wade Katy Perr...
Facebook Moves to Prevent Election Interference, Bans New Political Ads Beginning October 27th
Despite what Donald Trump or Mark Zuckerberg say, it’s pretty clear at this point that foreign interference on Facebook helped sway the 2016 presidential election. While Zuck has been slow to take responsibility or hold users on the platform accountable, Facebook has started initiating some changes to prevent further manipulation in 2020. Today, the company’s founder/CEO announced new steps Facebook and Instagram are taking to combat election tampering — including banning new political ads beginning one week before November 3rd. In his post announcing the changes, Zuckerberg explained barring ads beginning October 27th ensures Facebook has enough time to investigate any claims of misinformation. Trump has already been routinely criticized for pushing ads with false claims about his opponen...
No Major Changes Expected for Facebook’s Policies Amidst Worldwide Boycott
Sourced from BBC. Facebook and its family of apps have been embroiled in a far-reaching ad boycott of its platforms. The boycott, started by civil rights groups in the US, has been joined by hundreds of companies worldwide, including the likes of Unilever, Microsoft and Coca-Cola. The campaign, #StopHateforProfit, calls for Facebook to implement stricter measures to rid hate speech and racism on its platform during a time when the US is embroiled in daily protests against systemic racism and police brutality. New reports indicate that Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not worried by the boycott and has no intention of changing any of Facebook’s policies regarding hate speech or otherwise on its apps. Zuckerberg allegedly says that the boycott is more of a PR issue than one that will harm t...
Microsoft Reportedly Suspending Advertising on Facebook and Instagram
Sourced from Getty Images. Microsoft has reportedly paused advertising on Facebook and Instagram worldwide due to growing concerns about the content that is accompanying its adverts. Interestingly, the company isn’t participating in the industry-wide Facebook advertising boycott alongside mega-corporations like Coca-Cola and Unilever. Instead, Microsoft is more worried that their adverts might be shown with “inappropriate content” such as hate speech or pornography, according to internal communication viewed by Axios. Microsoft distances itself from larger boycott “Based on concerns we had back in May we suspended all media spending on Facebook/Instagram in the US and we’ve subsequently suspended all spending on Facebook/Instagram worldwide,” Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela said in an intern...
Facebook chief ‘worried’ about China’s influence on internet regulation
Agence France-Presse Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Monday he is “worried” that other countries may be trying to imitate China’s approach to regulating the internet. “Just to be blunt about it, I think there is a model coming out of countries like China that tend to have very different values than Western countries that are more democratic,” Zuckerberg said during an hourlong video conversation Monday with European Union Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton. The Facebook CEO added that it was up to Western democratic countries to have a clear framework for data privacy. “We have a joint responsibility to help develop this,” he said. It was the latest instance of Zuckerberg citing the risks of a Chinese model of the internet spreading around the world. He made similar comments last year,...
