Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy asked a Facebook executive if the social media platform replaced accurate journalism with ‘flagrant displays of bullshit’ during a hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Tuesday.
The head of Facebook’s cryptocurrency subsidiary David Marcus was in front of the committee a month after Facebook announced its plan to create a new digital currency called Libra with the goal of easing the process of making global transactions.
“We agree on this, that Facebook has now become the major news source for many, many people, probably the major news source,” Kennedy stated. “Is that true?”
“I don’t believe it is, senator. I believe that more and more people are interacting with other people,” Marcus responded.
“Well, 60% of your users say they get their news off Facebook as their primary source,” Kennedy countered. “Isn’t it true, I really want your opinion, that Facebook has chosen to advance a set of values in which truthful reporting has been displaced by, uh, flagrant displays of bullshit?”
Marcus answered, “I don’t know how to answer that question, sir.”
Facebook’s plan to get into the cryptocurrency business was initially met with skepticism.
“Libra raises serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection, financial stability,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at the time.
