The U.S. has been set ablaze by protests concerning the brutal killing of African American George Floyd. The country has been burning due to these protests for almost a week now, and several celebrities and companies have come out in support of the movement. The protests stand in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter campaign, calling for more action against systemic racism. Amidst all this, President Trump has been admonished for posting inflammatory tweets and comments. AS per a New York Times report, dozens of Facebook employees are protesting to challenge the company’s response to these posts by the President. Read on to know more about what’s happening and why it is important.
People Against Trump
Several Facebook employees decided to do a virtual walkout to show their disagreement with how the company is handling Trump’s posts. These employees asked for time-offs and even signed out with out-of-office responses to work emails as a sign of protest. They also notified senders that they were protesting against the company’s stand toward the President’s posts. Facebook acknowledged the walkout and said that it will not ask employees to apply their paid time off.
Trump’s Inflammatory Posts
The issue began to build when after last week’s killing of an unarmed black man, Floyd, Trump stated, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” He posted the same on both Twitter and Facebook, through his official handles. The statement has a very racially prominent history, as in the 1960s, it was used by white policemen during the civil unrest in Miami. The President later stated that he did not know about the history of the phrase. Twitter was quick in reporting the tweet by stating that it went against the platform’s guidelines. As the tweet glorified violence, it was tagged as being offensive and then reported.
Facebook’s Stand
Unlike Twitter, however, Facebook took a different stand by doing nothing! CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that their policy allowed discussion regarding the use of force. He went on to state that the situation calls for a questioning of the limits of such discussions. He justified not taking action against the Donald J. Trump post by stating that people had to know that the government would use force. Just last week, the White House announced that it would try to punish social media platforms for curtailing the right to freedom of expression. This came as a direct result of Twitter fact-checking the President’s tweets. Soon after, Zuckerberg contrasted and compared the policies of Twitter and Facebook. On a Fox News interview, Zuckerberg spoke out against platforms that acted as the “arbiter of truth” for things individuals said online.
Further Moves
Employees have also created and shared petitions that request Facebook to add more diversity to their positions. Some have even gone far enough to threaten the CEO with their resignation unless he rethinks his stance. A handful even spoke out against Facebook on Twitter, including Head of Portal Design Andrew Crow. He stated that allowing the platform to incite violence is unacceptable, whoever the individual who posts is. Surprisingly, the company has permitted internal unrest to spew into the open, something that has rarely happened in the past. While other tech platforms have faced the ire of employees for their political opinions, Facebook seemed to keep grievances within their walls. However, with this move, the company has alienated even top brass, such as Director of Product Management, Jason Toff. He, too, took to Twitter to say that he was “not proud” of how the company was behaving. An Instagram employee, Katie Zhu, said that she was “ashamed” at how the company is acting.
Zuckerberg responded by declaring that the company would donate $10 million for fighting racial injustice in the U.S. The post regarding the same said that the company allowed employees to show their dissent. It also claimed that Facebook would always seek their feedback and try to grow in the process. It will be interesting to see whether the company now rethink their stands and make amends, or continue with the same principles.
Being a cinephile with a love for all things outdoorsy, Athulya never misses a chance to chase inspiring stories or poke fun at things, even when the subject is herself. Currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, she is someone innately interested in technical and scientific research. Music reviews and op-eds define her as they allow her to explore different perspectives. Though sometimes she thinks she makes more sense playing the guitar than she does while writing.