Twitter’s Jack Dorsey Defends Fact-Check on Trump Tweet, Hits Back at Zuckerberg
Photo credit: Nicholas Kamm / AFP /Getty Images – with Twitter logo
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended the social media platform’s approach to fact-checking President Donald Trump’s tweets about mail-in voting in a not-so-subtle response to Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg knocked Twitter’s decision in a preview of his interview with Fox News’ Dana Perino, saying, “We have a different policy than Twitter on this. I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online. I think in general, private companies probably shouldn’t be — especially these platform companies — shouldn’t be in the position of doing that.”
Dorsey started out his thread Wednesday night saying, “Fact check: there is someone ultimately accountable for our actions as a company, and that’s me. Please leave our employees out of this.”
“We’ll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally. And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make,” he said.
After veiled pushback at Zuckerberg’s comments, Dorsey added, “Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves. More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions… The tweets yesterday may mislead people into thinking they don’t need to register to get a ballot (only registered voters receive ballots).”
Fact check: there is someone ultimately accountable for our actions as a company, and that’s me. Please leave our employees out of this. We’ll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally. And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make.
— jack (@jack) May 28, 2020
This does not make us an “arbiter of truth.” Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves. More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions.
— jack (@jack) May 28, 2020
Per our Civic Integrity policy (https://t.co/uQ0AoPtoCm), the tweets yesterday may mislead people into thinking they don’t need to register to get a ballot (only registered voters receive ballots). We’re updating the link on @realDonaldTrump’s tweet to make this more clear.
— jack (@jack) May 28, 2020
The president, meanwhile, has been publicly critical of Twitter, and he’s set to announce an executive order on social media tomorrow.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
