Don’t expect Facebook to join Twitter in fact-checking false or
inaccurate statements made by Donald Trump.
In an interview set to air Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told
Fox News “I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the
arbiter of truth of everything that people say online.”
But Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pushed back against Zuckerberg’s
comments, saying Wednesday night that Twitter will “continue to
point out incorrect or disputed information about elections
globally.”
On Tuesday, Twitter
took the unprecedented step of adding a fact check link[1] to
the bottom of several tweets in which Donald Trump falsely claimed
that mail-in voting is linked to fraud. The text, “Get the facts
about mail-in ballots,” redirected users to a Twitter page linking
to explanations that that Trump’s claims are not supported by any
evidence.
Zuckerberg told Fox News he disagrees with that decision. “We
have a different policy than, I think, Twitter on
this,” he
said[2] in
the interview. “I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be
the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online. Private
companies probably shouldn’t be, especially these platform
companies, shouldn’t be in the position of doing that.”
Several hours after Zuckerberg’s comments were made public,
Dorsey responded. “Fact check: there is someone ultimately
accountable for our actions as a company, and that’s me,”
Dorsey tweeted Wednesday
night[3]. “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.”
“This does not make us an ‘arbiter of truth,’” he continued.
“Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and
show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves.
More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the
why behind our actions.”
For his part, Trump was apoplectic over Twitter’s fact check,
which he falsely described as an attack on free speech. After
raging about it on Tuesday, he continued doing so on
Wednesday when he
suggested the federal government might take some form of action
against[4] Twitter.
Since then it has been reported
that Trump will sign an executive order[5] on
Thursday that will call on authorities to investigate Google,
Facebook and Twitter for “political bias.”
Zuckerberg indicated in his interview with Fox News that he also
disagrees with Trump. “I have to understand what they actually
would intend to do,” he said. “But in general, I think a government
choosing to to censor a platform because they’re worried about
censorship doesn’t exactly strike me as the right reflex
there.”
Zuckerberg’s interview will air on Fox News on Thursday.
Don’t expect Facebook to join Twitter in fact-checking false or
inaccurate statements made by Donald Trump.
In an interview set to air Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told
Fox News “I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the
arbiter of truth of everything that people say online.”
But Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pushed back against Zuckerberg’s
comments, saying Wednesday night that Twitter will “continue to
point out incorrect or disputed information about elections
globally.”
On Tuesday, Twitter
took the unprecedented step of adding a fact check link[1] to
the bottom of several tweets in which Donald Trump falsely claimed
that mail-in voting is linked to fraud. The text, “Get the facts
about mail-in ballots,” redirected users to a Twitter page linking
to explanations that that Trump’s claims are not supported by any
evidence.
Zuckerberg told Fox News he disagrees with that decision. “We
have a different policy than, I think, Twitter on
this,” he
said[2] in
the interview. “I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be
the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online. Private
companies probably shouldn’t be, especially these platform
companies, shouldn’t be in the position of doing that.”
Several hours after Zuckerberg’s comments were made public,
Dorsey responded. “Fact check: there is someone ultimately
accountable for our actions as a company, and that’s me,”
Dorsey tweeted Wednesday
night[3]. “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.”
“This does not make us an ‘arbiter of truth,’” he continued.
“Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and
show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves.
More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the
why behind our actions.”
For his part, Trump was apoplectic over Twitter’s fact check,
which he falsely described as an attack on free speech. After
raging about it on Tuesday, he continued doing so on
Wednesday when he
suggested the federal government might take some form of action
against[4] Twitter.
Since then it has been reported
that Trump will sign an executive order[5] on
Thursday that will call on authorities to investigate Google,
Facebook and Twitter for “political bias.”
Zuckerberg indicated in his interview with Fox News that he also
disagrees with Trump. “I have to understand what they actually
would intend to do,” he said. “But in general, I think a government
choosing to to censor a platform because they’re worried about
censorship doesn’t exactly strike me as the right reflex
there.”
Zuckerberg’s interview will air on Fox News on Thursday.