Facebook Workers: Freedom of Speech and Paid Speech are not the same thing

Mark Zuckerberg believes that Facebook should not censor politicians , even if their political ads report false allegations. But it seems that Facebook employees do not share the same view, and in a letter of protest to the CEO of Facebook they oppose the company’s decision.

Facebook employees were among the most “silent” in the tech industry on public affairs, as opposed to their colleagues at Google, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. However, in their letter to the New York Times they say Facebook is While part of free speech, they are concerned that this policy will undo all the work that has been done since 2016 in the fight against misinformation.

Freedom of speech and paid speech are not the same thing. Our current fact checking policies for people with political office or candidates for these posts are a threat to what Facebook is all about.

We strongly urge this policy as it is now. It does not protect voices but instead allows politicians to use the platform as a weapon targeting people who believe that the content posted by political figures is trustworthy.

They believe that this policy will raise the level of distrust on the platform and send the message that Facebook has no problem benefiting from deliberate misinformation, while at the same time irreparably damaging all the work done to secure fair elections in 2020.

The letter found support from Democrats. At a congressional hearing, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked Zuckerberg:

Could I put up ads targeting Republicans in the election by saying they voted in favor of the Green New Deal (a climate change deal opposed by Republicans)?

To answer Zuckerberg’s embarrassment:

I don’t know the answer to that right now. I think .. maybe?

Facebook responded to the workers’ letter by saying that they value their views but will not change their policy.

Facebook’s culture has been built in an open mind, so we appreciate our employees expressing their thoughts on this important topic. We remain committed not to censor political discourse and will continue to explore additional steps to bring increased transparency to political advertising.