Facebook is in a bind after Twitter’s decision to post qualifiers above President Trump’s recent tweets. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made his position clear—Facebook won’t censor the president’s or others’ posts—but his employees are protesting the decision.

On his Facebook page, Zuckerberg posted his response, including his difficult decision:

“I've been struggling with how to respond to the President's tweets and posts all day. Personally, I have a visceral negative reaction to this kind of divisive and inflammatory rhetoric. This moment calls for unity and calmness, and we need empathy for the people and communities who are hurting. We need to come together as a country to pursue justice and break this cycle.

“But I'm responsible for reacting not just in my personal capacity but as the leader of an institution committed to free expression. I know many people are upset that we've left the President's posts up, but our position is that we should enable as much expression as possible unless it will cause imminent risk of specific harms or dangers spelled out in clear policies.”

Separately, Zuckerberg acknowledged employees’ right to disagree:

"We recognize the pain many of our people are feeling right now, especially our Black community. We encourage employees to speak openly when they disagree with leadership. As we face additional difficult decisions around content ahead, we'll continue seeking their honest feedback.”

Image source.

Discussion:

• What are the arguments for and against Zuckerberg changing his position because of employee protests?

• How well is Zuckerberg communicating during this time. Read posts about the pandemic, remote work, the killing of George Floyd, etc.