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In a letter sent to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren appears to be pressuring Facebook into silencing debate on climate change on Facebook and to remove news organization Breitbart from Facebook News. In their response, Facebook didn’t appear to budge.
Senator Warren wrote in the first two paragraphs:
“Dear Mr. Zuckerberg:
We write to you about reports that Facebook has created fact-checking exemptions for people and organizations who spread disinformation about the climate crisis on its social media platform. Your company has reportedly “decided to allow its staffers to overrule the climate scientists and make any climate disinformation ineligible for fact-checking by deeming it ‘opinion.’” But the climate crisis and environmental degradation are not matters of opinion.
They are existential threats that hurt communities and economies throughout the world –
including and especially Black communities and other communities of color2 –and will continue to do so. It is imperative that your company reverse course and take immediate steps to combat the spread of climate disinformation on its social media platforms.”
Her full letter can be read below.
Facebook refuted Senator Warren’s claims:
“Our independent third-party fact-checking partners do review and rate climate misinformation. There has never been a prohibition against them doing so. In fact, we have a fact-checking partner specifically dedicated to reviewing science content, and many of the other partners in our network of over 70 global fact-checking partner organizations rate this content as well. As with all claims debunked by our partners, we reduce the distribution of posts rated “false” or “partly false” in News Feeds and apply a warning label on top of them on Facebook and Instagram so people understand that the content has been rated and what the ratings mean.”
Facebook went on to answer her questions and can be read below.
Senator Warren’s full letter
07.15.2020 Letter from Sens. Warren, Carper, Whitehouse, & Schatz to Mr. ZuckerbergFacebook’s response
Facebook response
