Ten days after the initial Gizmodo report accusing Facebook of suppressing trending conservative news, 16 Republican politicians and pundits met with Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on Wednesday.
The 90-minute meeting was an attempt by Facebook to mend its relationship with conservatives and to prove that the site is open to all perspectives, both liberal and conservative. The meeting included a presentation demonstrating how the network allows popular news articles to appear on the site. Some prominent conservative representatives present were Glenn Beck, Barry Bennett (an advisor to Donald Trump’s campaign), and Dana Perino (Fox News pundit and former White House press secretary).
The New York Times reported that the meeting was polite and collegial, an opportunity for concerns to be raised and questions to be asked.
“I would actually commend Facebook for being the only one of the major tech groups in Silicon Valley that’s willing to have conversations like this,” said Zac Moffatt, a Republican digital strategist and the co-founder of the political consultancy group Targeted Victory.
In addition to the presentation, the Republican group received a tour of the Facebook campus and were given the opportunity to experience the site’s Oculus virtual reality technology. The meeting left the Republicans with high hopes of seeing greater diversity and improvements in the near future.
Zuckerberg is adamant about regaining the trust of Republicans and proving that Facebook is a place of equality, even for conservatives.
“We’ve built Facebook to be a platform for all ideas,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his personal page later that day. “Our community’s success depends on everyone feeling comfortable sharing anything they want.”
“The reality is, conservatives and Republicans have always been an important part of Facebook,” he continued. “Donald Trump has more fans on Facebook than any other presidential candidate. And Fox News drives more interactions on its Facebook page than any other news outlet in the world. It’s not even close.”
The meeting between the Facebook officials and Republican pundits was held in response to allegations that Facebook suppressed conservative news on the Trending section of the site. Though Facebook disputed the allegations, previous public statements from Zuckerberg on immigration and marriage do support the appearance that the social networking site tends to lean left overall.
The Republican community waits to see if Facebook will follow through with its claims of equality and allow conservatism to have a greater presence on the site.
