The group pointed to President Trumps looting post as antithetical to CZIs mission
Ian Tuttle/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize
More than 140 scientists who receive funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Saturday urging him to better enforce the social media platforms policies against incendiary language, The Washington Post reported. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is the philanthropic organization founded by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan in 2015, which focuses on using technology to solve social challenges, including criminal justice reform. It is a separate entity from Facebook.
The scientists said in the letter that allowing President Trump to use Facebook to spread both misinformation and incendiary statements was not only a violation of Facebooks policies but directly antithetical to CZIs goal of building a more inclusive, just and healthy future for everyone.
We were disconcerted to see that Facebook has not followed their own policies in regards to President Trump, the letter states. For example, his statement when the looting starts, the shooting starts is a clear statement of inciting violence.
The scientists who signed the letter include professors from Stanford, Harvard, and a Nobel laureate, among others.
Zuckerberg said on May 29th that Facebook would not take any action against Trumps looting post, even after Twitter flagged a similar post for glorifying violence. Zuckerberg acknowledged that people were upset by the decision, but our position is that we should enable as much expression as possible unless it will cause imminent risk of specific harms or dangers spelled out in clear policies.
That decision prompted Facebook employees to stage a virtual walkout in protest, and Zuckerberg said late Friday that Facebook would review its policies on speech that promotes violence.
Neither Facebook nor the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative replied to requests for comment Saturday.
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