Clyburn blames polarization on ‘the advent of social media’

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) on Sunday blamed “the advent of social media” for the level of polarization in the U.S.

“It’s a little worse now and I think it’s because of the advent of social media,” Clyburn, who first started serving in Congress in 1993, said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”

“People tend to try to answer everything in sound bites. And that can be very disconcerting. And so I think that that’s what’s caused the problem more than anything else,” he added.

Scrutiny of social media platforms, especially Facebook, has increased in recent weeks after a former employee of the tech giant spoke out against the company and shined a light on its practices.

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager who was brought on board to work on election interference on the platform, has provided testimony and leaked documents that shows that the company prioritizes profits over user safety.

Facebook, however, has contended that officials at the company “care deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health.”

“It’s difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg added in a lengthy statement.