20,000 signatures reached
To: Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg: Stop playing with our democracy
Facebook is interfering with the election by giving preferential treatment to right-wing propaganda. Mark Zuckerberg must replace biased employees like Joel Kaplan—a former lobbyist now serving as Facebook's vice president of global public policy—who have intervened exclusively in favor of right-wing pages, and set up clear guidelines for how Facebook will avoid compromising the November election and protect Black and brown communities.
Why is this important?
In July, Facebook failed its own civil rights audit with a report concluding that the social media giant fails to understand the urgency of the situation and how the platform will have a direct impact on the U.S. presidential election in November. [1]
Since then, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, has shown little interest in ensuring the integrity of the upcoming election. In fact, Facebook and other platforms owned by Facebook have shown to be biased in favor of right-wing propaganda and Donald Trump’s campaign.
Facebook has fired an employee for collecting evidence that employees, like Joel Kaplan, were intervening in favor of right-wing pages. [2] And Instagram, a Facebook-owned platform, displayed more negative content for hashtags related to Joe Biden, but hid negative content for hashtags related to Donald Trump. [3] The top-performing posts on Facebook also overwhelmingly tend to be right-wing pages. [4] And Facebook has repeatedly failed to stop the spread of hate against marginalized groups. [5]
Most recently, Facebook's moderators failed to shut down a Kenosha militia group organizing on its platform despite complaints from users that it was inciting violence. [6]
Facebook is playing a dangerous game. But it seems to be more concerned with stopping employee leaks—by firing employees who collect evidence, for example—than actually fixing the issue.
As we continue the fight for a better and more inclusive democracy, we can’t afford to sit back and watch Facebook undermine our democracy.
Sign the petition to let Mark Zuckerberg know that he must immediately stop the amplification of right-wing propaganda and stop allowing Facebook platforms to put a thumb on the scale in favor of Donald Trump.
Sources:
1. “Facebook Just Failed Its First Ever Civil Rights Audit,” Vice, July 8, 2020
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/akz7qa/facebook-finally-agreed-to-a-civil-rights-audit-and-surprise-surprise-it-failed
2. “Facebook Fired An Employee Who Collected Evidence Of Right-Wing Pages Getting Preferential Treatment,” Buzzfeed News, August 6, 2020
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/facebook-zuckerberg-what-if-trump-disputes-election-results
3. “Instagram Displayed Negative Related Hashtags For Biden, But Hid Them For Trump,” Buzzfeed News, August 5, 2020
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/instagram-related-hashtags-favoring-trump-over-biden
4. “How Facebook Became the Social Media Home of the Right,” Vanity Fair, June 5, 2020
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/how-facebook-became-the-social-media-home-of-the-right
5. “20 States Warn Facebook To Do Better At Fighting Hate And Discrimination,” Forbes, August 5, 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/08/05/20-states-warn-facebook-to-do-better-at-fighting-hate-and-discrimination/
6. "Facebook chose not to act on militia complaints before Kenosha shooting," The Verge, August 26, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/26/21403004/facebook-kenosha-militia-groups-shooting-blm-protest
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