US President Donald Trump has accused Facebook of being anti-Trump, reports Express. In a tweet on Wednesday, 27 September, Trump said that the social network was biased during the 2017 Presidential Elections with Hilary Clinton. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has finally responded to these accusations. In his defense, he pointed out how liberals feel Facebook helped Trump during the campaigns. At the same time, Donald Trump feels like the network was against him. He acknowledged how both the sides are upset about the ideas that they disagree with.
In the end, the platform merely runs all types of ideas and is not taking any singular side.
Scrutiny over social media platforms
According to a report by The Verge, social media platforms are undergoing major scrutiny at the moment. Numerous platforms including Google, Twitter, and Facebook have been asked to stand before Congress on November 1, 2017. Government bodies are led to believe that these networks might have got something to do with the meddling of the Russian 2016 elections. Therefore, they are asked to testify before Congress that their platforms have not been consciously used to distribute fake information.
Facebook responds
Facebook has been accused of helping Trump days following the election.
As noted by The Verge, many believed that Facebook purposely promoted Pro-Trump posts with the objective to influence the minds of the voters. Zuckerberg was quick to respond to these criticisms at that time. He said that it would be crazy to believe that the social media platform had got anything to do with influencing the results of the elections.
Authorities behind both of Russia’s campaigns have been rumored to spend roughly $100,000 on ads. This apparently includes the involvement of social media platforms as well, especially Facebook.
Zuckerberg realized that they stood at a position wherein they couldn’t afford providing “untraceable ads.” Therefore, he announced earlier this week that Facebook won’t end support for them.
The social media giant is also prepared to share all the information with Congress that might even remotely be linked to Russian election campaigns. This includes ads, groups, fan pages and other related factors. Facebook pleads no involvement in the promotion of any particular campaigns. They do not promote any particular ideas, suggests Zuckerberg. The platform is merely a tool for users to exchange dialogues and share memories.
