Social media giant Facebook, which demanded that a Mississippi Republican Senate candidate return a $2,500 donation after making racially tinged remarks, has remained silent about seeking a refund from two top Virginia Democratic leaders mired in a blackface scandal.
Facebook, which has given Virginia Democrats four times as much money as it has given Republicans, has been quiet on the scandal gripping Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring, two white politicians who’ve admitted to appearing in blackface, generally seen as a racist act.
According to donor records, Facebook contributed $25,000 to Northam’s 2018 Inaugural committee and $5,000 to Herring in 2013.
The company also has been quiet about the $10,000 given to Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax’s 2018 Inaugural committee. Fairfax has been accused of sexual assault by two women.
Facebook and Google join list of companies withdrawing support for Sen. Hyde-Smith https://t.co/9P8airjYCh pic.twitter.com/3CIP1yb150
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) November 28, 2018
State political and African-American leaders have called on the lawmakers to resign. However, all three appear to be staying. They have apologized.
An email to Facebook requesting information was not immediately answered.
In the case of Mississippi’s Cindy Hyde-Smith, Facebook and several other contributors demanded their donations back after a video surfaced showing her joking about how she would sit in “the front row” of a public hanging.
She offered an apology to “anyone that was offended” by her hanging remark that threatened, but did not derail her election the Senate last year.
In a story about those seeking refunds from her at the time, the Examiner’s Daniel Chaitin wrote, “The social media company gave $2,500 to Hyde-Smith in September, but asked for its money back late Monday. ‘The recent public comments made by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith do not reflect the values or mission of Facebook,’ a Facebook representative said, according to the Washington Post. ‘Our PAC contribution was made before these comments were made, and we have asked the Hyde-Smith campaign to return our campaign donation.’”
