Mark Zuckerberg says Trump’s posts do not violate Facebook policy

FAN Editor

Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, October 23, 2019.

Erin Scott | Reuters

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday said a post by President Donald Trump in which he says “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” does not violate the company’s policies and will remain online. 

“Personally, I have a visceral negative reaction to this kind of divisive and inflammatory rhetoric,” Zuckerberg said in his post. “But I’m responsible for reacting not just in my personal capacity but as the leader of an institution committed to free expression.”

On Thursday night, Trump posted on Twitter and Facebook regarding protests this week in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of police. Trump referred to protesters as “THUGS” and warned that the military was on its way to Minneapolis. “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Trump wrote on Facebook and Twitter. 

Twitter placed a label warning users about Trump’s violent rhetoric, which they have to dismiss before they can view his tweet. Twitter is also preventing users from liking or retweeting the tweet.

In contrast, Facebook has decided to leave the post up in its entirety. 

Facebook decided to leave the post up because the company’s position is that it “should enable as much expression as possible unless it will cause imminent risk of specific harms or dangers spelled out in clear policies,” Zuckerberg wrote. 

“I disagree strongly with how the President spoke about this, but I believe people should be able to see this for themselves, because ultimately accountability for those in positions of power can only happen when their speech is scrutinized out in the open,” Zuckerberg said.

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