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Mark Zuckerberg has criticized the hypothesis that Facebook has reached an agreement with President Donald Trump that allowed Trump’s incendiary posts to appear on the site.
“I’ve also heard this hypothesis, so let me be clear: there’s no agreement of any kind,” Zuckerberg told Mike Allen of Axios. “Actually, the total concept of a deal is ridiculous.”
The theory that Zuckerberg and Trump have some kind of understanding that allows Trump to unleash the platform in exchange for more flexible regulation alleged through resources in a New York Times report last month and gained ground recently, especially after Facebook handled Trump’s messages. . On the platform.
After the murder of George Floyd in May and the national protests that followed, Trump posted that “when looting begins, the shooting begins,” a message on Twitter violated his policy of violence. Zuckerberg refused to delete or report the messages, highlighting the company’s commitment to speak freely on the platform.
But the challenge worsened in the weeks that followed, and major brands like Starbucks and Ford took off their ranked Facebook ads. The resolution also infuriated civil rights teams and workers, many of whom publicly opposed the resolution. At least one worker resigned in protest.
According to Axios, Zuckerberg spoke of worker discontent in a company-wide Q&A consultation last week. He noted that just having dinner with Trump last October didn’t mean that “we have some kind of deal.” Zuckerberg also said he was in contact with Trump “from time to time,” as with former President Barack Obama, Axios reports.
Zuckerberg also noted that in the past, Facebook had disposed of Trump’s posts from the platform and highlighted how the company reviewed under the existing administration, adding antitrust investigations and a $5 billion fine.