Love it or troll it

The Russians are not the only ones who recognize the propaganda value of Facebook. Plenty of American politicians use the free platform as a way to accentuate their positives and stay connected with friends and voters.

One of them is San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who has nearly 5,500 followers on Facebook.

Yes, that is the same Peskin who is calling for the removal of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s name from San Francisco General Hospital because of the scandals involving the platform as a conduit for conspiracy theories and privacy breaches — and its use of opposition research to discredit critics.

Peskin has asked the city attorney to find a way to peel the names of Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, off the hospital that gained their names after a $75 million donation. “This is about the integrity of institutions and spaces” mostly paid for with public money, Peskin said.

It’s a fair point for discussion — and an example of the peril inherent in selling naming rights to anything, public or private — but Peskin’s highfalutin indignation would have a bit more credibility if he were to disassociate himself from Facebook and its popular Instagram site. As of Wednesday afternoon, his smiling face remained on each.

Take a principled stand, Aaron: If Zuckerberg is so evil, why are you letting him make money off you and your Facebook friends?