Donald Trump

The recent brutal death of the African American George Floyd on the hands of a police officer has caused civil unrest in the U.S. Every citizen of the nation and other parts of the world has raised voice against the concrete racism that seems to continue even in the 21st century. The situation was triggered after Donald Trump’s inflammatory comment and tweets saying, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”. The city is burning with the rage of seeking vengeance and in the meantime, Facebook got caught in the situation. While the tweets of Trump was marked misleading by Twitter, Facebook chose to defend the president. This brought a lot of criticism and also internal instability questioning the principles of Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook VS Twitter

Media and press have raised a lot of questions on how Facebook and Twitter handled the comments and tweets of Donald Trump. While Twitter decided to label Trump’s tweet, Facebook wants to keep a wide view on political grounds. Many people raised questions about Zuckerberg’s integrity and defending the president. But, Zuckerberg said that both Facebook and Twitter have similar regulations regarding election misinformation.

According to Zuckerberg, the political posts and comments are one of the most sensitive topics on social media platforms. And, the company scrutinizes every post related to the matter. But, this time Facebook decided to not take such action as it is important for people to be aware of what their president says. He lastly said that, while Twitter has always been messy, Facebook is trying to maintain a balance and give voice to as many people as possible.

Zuckerberg’s defending ground

Facebook’s decision to not label or remove the misleading information about the election has also upset the employees. Apart from being criticized by the external sources, many employees of Facebook protested against the company’s policies. Several Facebook employees chose to conduct a virtual walkout and two of them already resigned from the company.

In response to all the internal disputes, Zuckerberg conducted an extended conference with his employees. He said that Trump’s posts have upset him as well and it was difficult to take a decision of not removing it. Keeping aside the personal opinion, Facebook CEO said it was the right thing to do. He further said that though Trump’s posts were upsetting, they are valuable to the people of the country.

Facebook has always tried to give voice and free expression to as many people as possible. But, many people still believe that this is a desperate move to avoid the rage of Trump. Regarding the voter misinformation, Zuckerberg said that it will be the top priority for the next few months and it might launch a “voter hub” as well.

What if the unrest continues?

Though the political posts are the ones that undergo several cross-examinations, policies might change it the dispute continues. Mark Zuckerberg said that if the nation of U.S. witnesses prolonged civil unrest, the company will make some changes to its policy thus labeling similar kinds of posts. Stricter rules will be applied to any information that can cause or promote violence. But, these regulations might not be applied for every nation because Facebook handles the nations with ongoing conflicts differently.

Facebook’s controversial policies and harmful polarization

In response to the regulation of its policy regarding political affairs, Facebook addressed and criticized an article from The Wall Street Journal. The article suggested that Facebook is ignoring its own research algorithm about harmful polarization. Facebook was accused of contributing to any kind of polarization which has a tremendous negative impact on our society.

In response to this, a Facebook spokesperson said that the company is trying its best to limit the post of any harmful content. Since 2016, the company has applied strict rules and strengthened its policy. So, this kind of remarks that can harm the reputation of the platform can be strongly disagreeable. Moreover, the company has donated $2 million in funding to support independent research ideas on polarization.

Conclusion

With the degree of unrest increasing among U.S citizens, Facebook is likely to receive more criticism, both internal and external. Though Mark Zuckerberg has assured that the platform has an overall positive impact on the world, it might have to bend some rules when the time comes.

Annasha

Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more