Over the last few weeks, Mark Zuckerberg has witnessed mounting pressure over the US President Donald Trump’s misinformed posts. People from across the country have been asking Facebook to pull down Trump’s controversial posts. Now, more than 140 scientists funded by Mark Zuckerberg have urged Facebook to put an end to Trump’s posts that are spreading misinformation.
According to The Guardian, the researchers, who include more than 60 professors at leading US research institutions and one Nobel laureate, have written a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook. It stated, “...consider stricter policies on misinformation and incendiary language that harms people”, particularly at the time when there is unrest in the country.
Recently, Zuckerberg had said Facebook will review its content policies. This was after it faced backlash not just from the US citizens but from its own employees, over the decision to keep the controversial posts from Trump.
The mission of the scentists is “antithetical to some of the stances that Facebook has been taking, so we’re encouraging them to be more on the side of truth and on the right side of history, as we have said in the letter”, said Debora Marks of Harvard Medical School, one of three professors who organised it.
The researchers have pointed out the spread of misinformation which is deliberate and is divisive in nature as against the goals of the researchers to prevent and eradicate disease, improve childhood education and reform the criminal justice system, using technology.
It is claimed that the letter had more than 160 signatories. Moreover, 10 per cent of the signatories are employees at the foundations run by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.
Recently, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram disabled President Donald Trump‘s campaign tribute video to George Floyd on their platforms.president, Zuckerberg-led Facebook has decided to keep the post intact.
