Facebook workers protest over Trump’s posts

OAKLAND, Calif. — Dozens of Facebook employees, in rare public criticism Monday of their company, protested executives’ decision not to do anything about inflammatory posts that President Donald Trump had placed on the giant social media platform over the past week.

The employees, who took the day off by logging into Facebook’s systems and requesting time off to support protesters across the country, also added an automated message to their emails saying they were out of the office in a show of protest.

The movement — a virtual “walkout” of sorts because most Facebook employees are working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic — comes as staff members have circulated petitions and threatened to resign. More than a dozen current and former employees have described the unrest as the most serious challenge to Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership.

Zuckerberg has argued several times that Facebook should take a hands-off approach to what people post, including lies from elected officials and others in power. He has repeatedly said the public should be allowed to decide what to believe.

That stand was tested last week when Twitter added fact-check and warning labels to two tweets from the president that broke Twitter’s rules around voter suppression and glorification of violence. Facebook left them alone with Zuckerberg saying Trump’s posts did not violate the social network’s rules.

In response to the walkout, Zuckerberg has moved up his weekly meeting with employees to Tuesday. The meeting will be a chance for employees to question Zuckerberg on his decision.

Zuckerberg’s decision frustrated many employees. More than a dozen Facebook employees tweeted that they disagreed with Zuckerberg’s decision, including Andrew Crow, the head of design of Facebook’s portal product.

“Facebook’s inaction in taking down Trump’s post inciting violence makes me ashamed to work here,” Lauren Tan, a Facebook engineer, said in a tweet Friday. “Silence is complicity.”