Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO speaks on stage during ‘Putting a Best Facebook Forward’ at Vanity Fair’s 6th Annual New Establishment Summit.
Matt Winkelmeyer | Getty Images
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, said on Monday that the US Capitol insurrection last week was largely organized on other Internet services, not on Facebook.
“We again brought down QAnon, Proud Boys, Stop the Steal, anything about possible violence last week,” Sandberg said in a live interview with Reuters. “Our application is never perfect, so I’m sure there were still things on Facebook. I think these events were largely organized on platforms that don’t have our ability to prevent hate, don’t have our standards and don’t have our transparency.”
But there were still many groups that were able to post on Facebook about the attack on the Capitol building before last week’s riots. For example, CNBC found that the Facebook group for The Black Conservatives Fund political action committee called on its 80,000 followers to march on Capitol Hill on January 5, the day before the riots. The group removed the post after an investigation by CNBC.
Sandberg added that the company continues to work to find any mention that might be linked to the uprising and remove it. Sandberg’s comments came after Facebook announced last week that it would suspend President Donald Trump for an indefinite period of time and at least until President-elect Joe Biden takes over the Oval Office.
“We have no plans to raise it,” said Sandberg. “It showed that even a president is not above the policies we have.”
Sandberg was also asked about her future with the company after the New York Times in July 2020 reported that she had been left out of the company after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a more practical approach to company’s relationships with lawmakers in Washington. This was a function that previously fell within the company’s Sandberg jurisdiction.
“I’m staying,” said Sandberg, adding that he loves his job. “People love headlines about corporate drama, and I think it’s fair to say that they particularly love headlines about marginalized women, but I feel tremendously lucky to have this job.”