After President Donald Trump won the presidential election in November, then-President Barack Obama asked Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to address the uptick in fake news on the social media website, the Washington Post reported Sunday night, citing unnamed people brief on the conversation.
As federal investigators and reporters dig deeper into Russia’s attempt to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, Facebook has come under scrutiny for the amount of fake news that flourished on the social platform. Reports this month revealed that a Russian troll farm spent $100,000 on Facebook ads during the 2016 election and that a Russian-linked Facebook group promoted pro-Trump rallies.
After the 2016 election, amid concerns that Russia tried to interfere in the election, Zuckerberg said it was “crazy” to think that fake content on Facebook influenced the outcome of the 2016 race.
After those comments, on Nov. 19, Obama spoke to Zuckerberg about fake news and Facebook on the sidelines of a meeting with world leaders in Peru, according to the Washington Post. Obama told Zuckerberg that he needed to do more to address fake news and its influence on elections, per the Post.
However, Zuckerberg was resistant and told Obama that fake news was not widespread on Facebook and that it would be hard to address, according to the Washington Post.
Read the Washington Post’s full report here.
After the 2016 election, amid concerns that Russia tried to meddle in the election, Zuckerberg said it was “crazy” to think that fake content on Facebook influenced the outcome of the 2016 race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QEDb3xzdecSo he said it didn’t happen and even if it did it would be difficult to address. Hm! I think if he’s running for President he’s well on the way to mastering the skills and attitudes the position demands today.
“Difficult to address”=too profitable to the company to stop
Any change in FB’S numbers? I’m still on, to keep in touch with family
“But then how will everyone love me!?” said Zuck before he went into his office to cry for an hour. I think he’d best scuttle his plans to run for office.