Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Says There Could Be Post-Election Violence in Leaked Audio: People Might ‘Take to the Streets’
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A collection of leaked audio recordings have provided a new look into Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s struggle to address the political and free speech challenges surrounding his social media platform.
The Verge obtained a multitude of audio recordings and posts from company insiders, many of which shed light on how Facebook contended with the coronavirus pandemic and sociopolitical events throughout the summer of 2020. The trove of audio also delves into Facebook’s internal conversations on public image concerns, political pressures, and their efforts to deal with misinformation and election interference.
Many of the contents originated from a series of company Q&As Zuckerberg held weekly, during which, employees would ask him questions and he would livestream his answers to the ones that got the most demand. According to The Verge’s reporting though “his weekly Q&As now regularly spill over with outrage and dissent.”
“Throughout the summer, Zuckerberg faced increasingly pointed questions about the company’s friendly relationship with President Donald Trump; the influence of its conservative head of policy, Joel Kaplan; and the rise of white supremacist organizations on the platform,” the report goes on.
One instance of discord at Facebook occurred shortly after the George Floyd murder protests began, when Zuckerberg decided to not delete Trump’s “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” social media message. The matter became a recurring topic during Zuckerberg’s virtual meetings, and employees publicly protested the company’s policy decisions multiple times, even Facebook’s top brass offered conflicting views on their approach to impartiality.
As time passed, more recordings were taken as Zuckerberg and company officials dealt with questions about Facebook’s response to civil rights activism and misinformation ahead of the 2020 election. In July, Zuckerberg had this to say about the relationship between him and Trump:
I think I’ve probably been the most outspoken CEO in the country against — on the many things that I disagree with this president on, whether it’s the immigration policies, which I think have not only been unfair but I think put the country at a huge disadvantage going forward compared to the opportunities that we should be going after. On climate change, where I think moves like pulling out of the Paris Agreement were a huge setback for the world. On things like his divisive and inflammatory rhetoric, that I’ve called disgusting — which I think was farther than pretty much any other corporate CEO who I’ve seen out there.
Later in the month, Zuckerberg told employees he was concerned about what would happen with the 2020 election between the coronavirus’ impact on turnout and the possibility that the victor might not be decided on Election Day. This led to a dark prediction from the Facebook CEO.
There’s potentially some chance that a lot of people take to the streets and then that ends up being a violent period, or at least that there is some violence.
