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Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg defends Trump post decisions to staff

  • Many Facebook workers have voiced dismay that the Trump post, which seemed to threaten that looters would be shot, was still visible on the social network
  • Zuckerberg told staff that he and other members of Facebook’s policy team could not justify saying that the post clearly incited violence

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Facebook chairman and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 15. Photo: Reuters
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told staff at a companywide meeting that he will not change his mind about a decision to leave up posts shared by US President Donald Trump last week, which many workers felt violated the company’s policies against violent rhetoric.
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At an all-hands meeting via video chat on Tuesday, Zuckerberg took questions from employees, many of whom have publicly voiced dismay that the Trump post, which seemed to threaten that looters would be shot, was still visible on Facebook’s service.

Zuckerberg told workers that he and other members of the company’s policy team could not justify saying that the message clearly incited violence, which means it did not break Facebook’s rules, according to two people who attended the meeting.

Facebook, according to Zuckerberg, is exploring whether the company should change the policy or come up with other ways to flag violating posts besides taking them down entirely, one person said.

The meeting lasted 90 minutes, and employees asked Zuckerberg questions via a video split screen. Many of those who spoke were upset and frustrated with the company’s position.

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Facebook is responding to the most intense internal protest in its history, involving public resignations and increasing outrage over Zuckerberg’s decisions.

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