Clinton says Zuckerberg has ‘authoritarian’ views on misinformation
Hillary Clinton criticized Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the social media giant in a new interview, calling the top executive’s views “authoritarian” and saying that the platform “intend[s] to reelect” President Trump.
Clinton said that her 2016 presidential campaign did not “understand what was going on below the radar screen,” at an event Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival, including alleged conspiracy theories, sexist claims and other lies the former secretary of State claims were spread about her online.
In an interview with the Atlantic, Clinton specifically referenced a slowed-down video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), which was meant to make her appear drunk. Clinton said Google took the video off of YouTube, so she contacted Facebook in an effort to get it removed from the social media site.
“I said, ‘Why are you guys keeping this up? This is blatantly false. Your competitors have taken it down. And their response was, ‘We think our users can make up their own minds,’” Clinton told the magazine. Facebook defended the choice at the time, saying that flagging the video instead of removing it allowed users to make up their own minds.
Adrienne LaFrance, who interviewed Clinton, said when she previously interviewed Zuckerberg, he said Facebook’s position is that “It’s not about saying, ‘Here’s one view; here’s the other side,’” and that users “should decide where you want to be.”
When asked if she thought that perspective was “Trumpian,” Clinton responded that “It’s Trumpian” and “It’s authoritarian.”
“I feel like you’re negotiating with a foreign power sometimes,” Clinton added about conversations she has had “at the highest levels” with Facebook, the Atlantic reported.
“This is a global company that has huge influence in ways that we’re only beginning to understand,” she continued.
Clinton also predicted that Facebook is “not just going to reelect Trump, but intend[s] to reelect Trump.”
“They have, in my view, contorted themselves into making arguments about freedom of speech and censorship,” Clinton alleged, the Atlantic reported, “which they are hanging on to because it’s in their commercial interests.”
Clinton has previously criticized Facebook over misinformation that can be spread on the site. Last year, Clinton called the social media giant’s decision to allow ads from politicians that contain proven falsehoods “appalling.”
“Facebook’s decision to allow false information in political advertisements is appalling. Voters are being confronted by millions of pieces of misinformation. A world where up is down and down is up is a world where democracy can’t thrive,” she tweeted.
The Hill has reached out to Facebook for comment.
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