Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) CEO, has staunchly defended the company’s social networking platform in a Facebook post against accusations that it might have affected the results of the recent US presidential election because of the fake news that easily spread on Facebook.
99% Real Content
Zuckerberg has emphasized that more than 99% of global Facebook content is authentic. Consequently, he believes that hoax posts had less likely influenced the outcome of the US presidential election, with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump winning. He says he finds it absurd that people think Facebook has influenced the decision of US voters in one way or another.
The posts users see on their respective News Feed are tailored, which explains why some users may see more hoax posts than other users. In line with this, Zuckerberg has guaranteed that the company is doing its best to minimize the presence of hoax news on Facebook. Nonetheless, he has maintained that the main role of the social networking giant is not to become arbiters of political truth, if even such a thing exists.
Not a Media Company
Once again, Zuckerberg has also taken advantage of the opportunity to clarify that Facebook is not primarily a media company. Its primary objective since inception has always been to connect people and everything beyond that is merely a consequence of how it carries out its mission.
“News and media are not the primary things people do on Facebook, so I find it odd when people insist we call ourselves a news or media company in order to acknowledge its importance,” elaborated Zuckerberg.
Arguers against Facebook’s claim to neutrality believe that the company still delivers news to users just how mainstream media does, thereby indirectly affecting how users process current events and even make important decisions.
Accordingly, more than 40% of people in the US get updated with current events through Facebook. In 2012, the company itself had conducted a study that found that Facebook can directly sway the voting behavior of millions of users.
On Friday, Facebook closed at $119.02, down by 1.47%.
