Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’Almost Heaven, West Virginia ‘- Joe Manchin and a 50-50 Senate from New York AG sue NYPD for excessive force in protests by Black Lives Matter Pressley’s chief of staff said his office’s panic buttons “were uprooted” before the Capitol turmoil MORE (DN.Y.) on Friday condemned Facebook, in addition to co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg’Nationalize ‘Facebook and Twitter as public goods Amazon cites death threats to keep Parler offline Trump hits social media companies after banning their accounts MORE for the misinformation posted on the platform, arguing that both Zuckerberg and his company “have partial responsibility” for the January 6 deadly pro-Trump riot on Capitol Hill.
In your monthly fee city hall live broadcast for constituents, the progressive MP said that although Facebook is “trying to do as much damage control as possible ”after the mob attack, removing accounts that published false information about the 2020 elections, which served as the basis for the violent demonstration, Ocasio-Cortez said the effects of online misinformation are “coming a long time ago.”
“I believe this is directly linked to the total lack of responsibility that monopolies like Facebook have towards democracy,” said the New York representative at the virtual event, adding that the social media giant “knew” that there was misinformation on its platform and “allowed” anyway.
Ocasio-Cortez then referred to a viral moment at a Congressional hearing in October 2019, when he questioned Zuckerberg about the potential for widespread misinformation in political ads, with the congresswoman saying on Friday that this should have led the Facebook boss to act before the 2020 elections.
“Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have partial responsibility for Wednesday’s events. Period, ”she argued. “We knew this was a problem. We knew this until now that, pre-COVID, I asked him specifically about electoral misinformation and its ties to Facebook with white supremacy organizations and the ties that Facebook fact-checking organizations have to other white supremacy means to avoid be flagged and withdrawn.
“There is a very clear link here,” added the congresswoman.
After the violent crowd, Facebook announced an indefinite suspension of President Trump
Donald TrumpCIA, CIA chief, threatened to resign due to pressure to install loyal Trump as a deputy: Azar report in farewell letter says Capitol riot threatens to “tarnish” administration achievements Justice Department argues that Trump should get immunity from prosecutor’s case of rapeaccount at least until the president-elect Joe Biden
Joe BidenAzar in a farewell letter says riot on Capitol Hill threatens to tarnish administration achievements House Democrats introduce measures to oppose Trump’s sale of bombs to Saudis On The Money: Retail sales fall at the last sign of weakening the economy | Fast-food workers strike for minimum wage | US officials raise concerns about Mexico’s handling of energy licenses MOREThe inauguration to limit the possibility of further spread of Trump’s baseless allegations of a “stolen” election.
Facebook announced on Friday that it is no longer allowing people to create new events close to the White House, the Capitol or the State Capitols until after the inauguration, with the FBI warning of possible future violence in the midst of the presidential transition.
This happened after Facebook said on Monday would be remove content containing the phrase “Stop Theft” under its Damage Coordination policy after the deadly Capitol riot last week. The phrase was used to promote unmasked allegations of widespread electoral fraud, which were driven by Trump and other Republican lawmakers before the insurrection.
However, an analysis released on Thursday by the nonprofit advocacy group Avaaz found that 90 Facebook groups the promotion of unmasked electoral claims remained on the platform on Wednesday.
Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly called on social media platforms to take steps to prevent the spread of false information online and on Tuesday said in an Instagram Live Q&A that she was exploring media literacy initiatives in the wake of the Capitol crowd attack.
“We’re going to have to figure out how we can control our media environment so that you can’t just spread misinformation and misinformation,” she said in the video. “It is one thing to have divergent opinions, but another thing to just say things that are false.”