Media Research Center president and conservative activist Brent Bozell says Mark Zuckerberg has assured him that Facebook will not be politically targeting conservative content as it launches its “fake news” initiative.
Zuckerberg’s assurances come after Facebook revealed last week that it would be hiring partisan “fact-checkers” such as Snopes and PolitiFact to clamp down on the alleged problem of “fake news.”
Facebook confirmed that stories deemed to be false will now be “flagged” by Facebook, with an accompanying red label claiming the story is “disputed by 3rd Party Fact-Checkers.”
However, companies such as Snopes have been found to employ almost exclusively leftists, whilst PolitiFact has a long record of inaccuracy and is partially funded by a major Clinton Foundation donor.
Bozell wrote in a statement:
I have been in communication with Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook since he announced their new “fake news” initiative. I expressed grave concern with this decision and the liberal “fact-checking” organizations Facebook has chosen. Mr. Zuckerberg assured me that his express aim is to eliminate only patently false news stories from Facebook.
“He underscored he has instructed these organizations to focus only on truly fake news and nothing of a political nature. I will accept in good faith his commitment to address our concerns on this matter. It is my hope this will be the last we say about this issue,” he continued.
Bozell was one of a number of establishment conservative figures invited to Facebook HQ by Mark Zuckerberg in May this year, after the company faced reports of actively engaging in anti-conservative bias.
The invitation was a response to reports that Facebook had artificially amplified the coverage of left-wing movements such as Black Lives Matter, whilst actively suppressing conservative outlets.
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com
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