- Elon Musk shared an image on Twitter on Wednesday night that seemed to partially blame Facebook for pro-Trump violence on the Capitol.
- “This is called the domino effect,” tweeted Musk. The image’s first domino was labeled “a website to evaluate women on campus”, in reference to the creation of Facebook by Harvard University students.
- The final domino was over the rioters, who invaded the capital on Wednesday.
- Facebook has been accused of allowing the spread of misinformation, including that of President Donald Trump.
- Musk’s response to Wednesday’s violence, during which four people died, was mild compared to many other business leaders.
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Elon Musk apparently blamed the creation of Facebook for the violence in the United States Capitol building in a tweet posted on Wednesday night.
Congress met on Wednesday to certify the outcome of the US presidential election. Urged by President Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric and allegations of electoral fraud, protesters stormed the Capitol. Four people died – one shot by the police, three in medical emergencies.
Later that night, Musk shared a meme linking the disturbances to Facebook. The image showed tiles lined up like dominoes. The smallest tile, the domino that causes others to fall, has been labeled “a website for evaluating women on campus”, in reference to the creation of Facebook by Harvard University students.
On the larger tile was a post by Mark Leibovich, principal national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, which said: “The Capitol seems to be under the control of a man in a Viking hat.” Leibovich’s comment referred to Jake Angeli, a well-known QAnon influencer nicknamed “Q Shaman”, whose photo was widely shared on Wednesday when he stormed the Capitol in a horned leather helmet like a Viking.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
Social media platforms have been increasingly criticized in recent months for allowing incorrect information, including from Trump, to spread.
Musk has openly criticized Facebook for years. In February, he asked people to delete their Facebook accounts, calling the platform “boring”, and in May he tweeted “Facebook sucks” during a confrontation with the artificial intelligence leader of the social media giant.
Musk, unlike other business leaders on Wednesday, did not directly condemn the protesters or speak out against the violence. Google CEO Sundar Pichai called this “the antithesis of democracy” in an internal memo seen by Insider, and Apple CEO Tim Cook said “those responsible for this uprising must be held responsible”.
Read More: Lawmakers, Hill officials and reporters recount the harrowing experience of a violent pro-Trump crowd invading the Capitol to protest the counting of electoral votes
Facebook removed a video of President Trump making unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud on Wednesday night. The platform then blocked Trump from posting content for 24 hours.
But before that decision, Facebook, without explanation, prevented employees from commenting on posts on their internal message boards discussing the ban. Employees also criticized the platform’s lack of speed and aggressiveness to deal with the situation.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, however, sent a memo to the team condemning the “mob violence”, calling it “a dark moment in our nation’s history”.
“The peaceful transition of power is critical to the functioning of democracy and we need our political leaders to set an example and put the nation first,” continues the memo.
Trump in a statement on Thursday promised an “orderly transition of power.”