Facebook Thrashes Twitter For Adding Link Meant to Discredit Trump
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg thrashes its fellow social media giant, Twitter, for allegedly interfering with the upcoming 2020 elections.
Just this week, Twitter added a “get facts” link after President Donald Trump expressed his concerns on the integrity of the vote-in mail system and its potential susceptibility to voter fraud. The link is filled with numerous articles from left-wing media establishments, which aims to discredit Trump.
On Thursday, Zuckerburg spoke out against Twitter’s move in a Fox News interview. The Silicon Valley CEO believed that social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, should provide a platform for people to express their free speech, and not as “arbiters of truth.” Zuckerburg explained that “We have a different policy, I think than Twitter on this.” He continued, “I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online.” The Facebook CEO added that “In general, private companies probably shouldn’t be, especially these platform companies, shouldn’t be in the position of doing that.”
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded on his social media platform that the company had a mandate to “continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally.” He defended the company’s decision by claiming that they are only connecting “the dots” on conflicting statements. Dorsey added that the move does not make them an “arbiter of truth.”
Fact check: there is someone ultimately accountable for our actions as a company, and that’s me. Please leave our employees out of this. We’ll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally. And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make.
— jack (@jack) May 28, 2020
Zuckerburg explained that he understood Twitter’s intention, but concluded that censorship is not the way to go.
What’s more concerning is that the company’s “Head of Site Integrity” was a staunch Democratic supporter. Yoel Roth, who was in charge of developing and implementing the platform site’s rule, had made grievous accusations against the Trump administration. In fact, Roth had once wrote called Trump a “Nazi in the White House” and even a “racist tangerine.” Moreover, he had also referred to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as a “personality-free bag of farts.” To add on his long list of name-calling, he had also once likened former White House Advisor, Kellyanne Conway, to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.
The social media platform’s decision immediately drew a reaction from the President. He claimed that Twitter was “interfering” with the 2020 elections by adding articles from left-wing media establishments.
.@Twitter is now interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election. They are saying my statement on Mail-In Ballots, which will lead to massive corruption and fraud, is incorrect, based on fact-checking by Fake News CNN and the Amazon Washington Post....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
The President also wrote that the social media giant “stifled” the people’s rights to freedom of speech and that he would ensure that such an incident would not happen.
....Twitter is completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as President, will not allow it to happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
On Wednesday, the President announced that he would take a “big action” against social media sites for their censorship. Moreover, he warned that he might possibly “close them down.”
Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election. If that happens, we no longer have our freedom. I will never let it happen! They tried hard in 2016, and lost. Now they are going absolutely CRAZY. Stay Tuned!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2020
Based on Thursday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed that Trump is reportedly planning to sign an executive order against social media companies.