Facebook employees criticize inaction on Trump’s posts

Several Facebook employees have publicly spoken out against the way the company handles posts from President Donald Trump. Friday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the social network's decision to leave up a post by the president in which he warned, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Twitter labeled Trump's tweet as a violation of rules against “glorifying violence.” Facebook left the president's post untouched. “I work at Facebook and I am not proud of how we're showing up,” Jason Toff, a product management director, wrote on Twitter. “The majority of coworkers I've spoken to feel the same way. We are making our voice heard.” Jason Stirman, who works on research and development at Facebook, said the company's decision is “not acceptable.” “I'm a FB employee that completely disagrees with Mark's decision to do nothing about Trump's recent posts, which clearly incite violence,” Stirman tweeted. “I'm not alone inside of FB. There isn't a neutral position on racism.” According to The New York Times, several employees are participating in a virtual walkout to protest Facebook's stance. Some employees confirmed on Twitter they will join the walkout, as first reported by CNBC. “As allies we must stand in the way of danger, not behind,” Sara Zhang said. Friday, Zuckerberg said in a Facebok post that although he disagrees with Trump's post, the content should be out in the open for users to decide on themselves. “I know many people are upset that we've left the President's posts up, but our position is that we should enable as much expression as possible unless it will cause imminent risk of specific harms or dangers spelled out in clear policies,” Zuckerberg said. Last week, Twitter clashed with Trump over tweets posted by the president on mail- in ballots. On two of Trump's tweets, Twitter appended the message “Get the facts about mail- in ballots,” linking to information disputing the president's claims. Trump blasted Twitter, threatening to “strongly regulate” social media platforms. Zuckerberg questioned the fact check, saying private companies should not serve as an “arbiter of truth.” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended the decision. “Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute, so people can judge for themselves,” Dorsey said.