Zuckerberg, Chan say they’re ‘disgusted’ by Trump’s ‘incendiary’ Facebook rhetoric

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan in a letter to scientists associated with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) — a philanthropic effort by the couple set to combat disease — said that they have been “deeply shaken and disgusted by President Trump’s divisive and incendiary rhetoric.”

The letter, which was shared on Twitter, was in response to an initial letter that more than 270 scientists connected to CZI penned to Zuckerberg and Chan that stated they shouldn’t allow Trump to “spread both misinformation and incendiary statements.”

NEW —

Mark Zuckerberg & Priscilla Chan have responded to the 270+ scientists at the @ChanZuckerberg Initiative who called on Zuckerberg to curb misinformation.

Zuckerberg says he and Chan are “deeply shaken and disgusted by President Trump’s
divisive and incendiary rhetoric.” pic.twitter.com/j5ziU15Ik9

— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) June 11, 2020

In the letter, the scientists claim Facebook’s tolerance for false information and incendiary language goes against the CZI’s mission to “build a healthier, just, and more inclusive future.”

“Although CZI and Facebook are entirely separate and independent organizations with different missions and teams, we do share the same co-leader,” Chan and Zuckerberg wrote in their letter. “In this moment, we understand that CZI’s relationship with Facebook is not an easy tension to bridge.”

The pair added that the decisions of Facebook are “not the decisions of CZI as an organization. Nor will Facebook ever dictate how we at CZI approach our mission, work, or partnerships.”

Zuckerberg has received widespread criticism for allowing misinformation, including from the president, to permeate Facebook.

The billionaire has defended Facebook’s policies, saying that the social media giant is not an “arbiter of truth.”

Social media rival Twitter has taken a more hard-line stance on information put out by Trump, flagging a number of his tweets in recent weeks.

Twitter’s crackdown led Trump to file an executive order that would remove immunity that social media companies have under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for content posted on their platforms by third parties.