Zuckerberg, Chan: We're Just 'Disgusted'

Facebook's founder responds to scientists
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2020 9:30 AM CDT
Zuckerberg, Chan: We're Just 'Disgusted'
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan arrive at the 7th annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the NASA Ames Research Center on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018 in Mountain View, Calif.   (Photo by Peter Barreras/Invision/AP)

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are responding to over 200 scientists who criticized Facebook—but what this means for the tech giant remains unclear, the Hill reports. "We take your concerns seriously and to heart," the couple wrote in a letter to scientists associated with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. "And personally, like you, we are deeply shaken and disgusted by President Trump's divisive and incendiary rhetoric at a time when our nation so desperately needs unity." This in response to criticism that Facebook, unlike Twitter, has refused to flag or block incendiary posts by President Trump, particularly one that said: "When the looting starts, the shooting starts."

But the power couple provided little in terms of action, referring scientists to earlier posts in which the Facebook founder defended his company's anti-censorship stance and promised to re-consider its policies, per CNN Business. "Having more voices at the table that represent a diversity of perspectives, viewpoints, and lived experiences isn't just a good way to help solve the world's biggest challenges—it is the only way," the couple wrote. "That principle underlies much of our work here at CZI." But Zuckerberg and Chan promised to "always listen" and hoped that their joint effort "to support science and technology ... is the bond that will hold us together." (More Facebook stories.)

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