By Kurt Wagner and Sarah Frier
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the social network doesn’t fact-check political advertisements because it’s not the place of technology companies to become arbiters of truth.
“I don’t think most people want to live in a world where you can only post things that tech companies judge to be 100% true,” Zuckerberg said on Thursday to an auditorium full of students at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall in Washington. “People should be able to see for themselves what politicians are saying.”
In recent weeks, Facebook has been criticized for its policy on political ads, with the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren calling on the company to remove ads from U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign that include claims with no evidence. Facebook has declined to do so, raising the larger question of whether such ads on social media should be regulated.
Zuckerberg said on Thursday that he’s considered getting rid of political ads on his platforms altogether — it’s a small part of the company’s business — but banning them would favor incumbents.
“In a democracy, I believe people should decide what’s credible, not tech companies,” Zuckerberg said.
