Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blasted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over his decision to allow misleading political advertisements on the social media network, suggesting that Facebook is “not just going to reelect Trump but intend[s] to reelect Trump.”
Citing Facebook’s refusal to remove an altered version of a speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, Clinton warned that the social media giant was “authoritarian.”
Clinton, 72, told the Atlantic that she “didn’t really know this was happening” to her as Trump’s team used the internet and memes as an integral part of their campaign strategy in 2016. She criticized Facebook and Zuckerberg for not wanting to anger the president by targeting videos or images posted in support of Trump.
“That’s what I believe. And it just gives me a pit in my stomach,” said Clinton. “He’s immensely powerful. This is a global company that has huge influence in ways that we’re only beginning to understand.”
Zuckerberg, 35, has refused calls to censor his platform of misleading information, suggesting that users can make judgment calls on content posted to Facebook.
“I believe we have two responsibilities,” Zuckerberg told students at Georgetown University last fall. “To remove content when it could cause real danger as effectively as we can and to fight to uphold as wide a definition of freedom of expression as possible — and not allow the definition of what is considered dangerous to expand beyond what is necessary.”
