Mark Zuckerberg Denies that Facebook Is a 'Right-Wing Echo Chamber'

In a recent interview with Axios on HBO, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied the accusation that Facebook has become a “right-wing echo chamber.”

Speaking to Axios co-founder Mike Allen for an episode of Axios on HBO, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied the assertion that Facebook had become a right-wing echo chamber that is specifically helping President Donald Trump to be elected again in November.

Allen began by claiming that the Facebook platform is “helping President Trump win again,” and asked Zuckerberg how he feels about that. Zuckerberg went on to say that he believes that this is not a partisan issue but that some people are just more authentic or natural on the internet and social media, noting that social media allows everyone to have a voice.

Allen replied that he agreed, adding: “President Obama very effectively leveraged Facebook for two elections. But now that’s flipped. And Facebook, the reality is, is a real right wing echo-chamber. If you look at some of the loudest voices on Facebook, it’s your Breitbart, and it’s Sarah Palin, and it’s Franklin Graham… that part of the spectrum has figured out Facebook in this moment.”

Zuckerberg disagreed, responding:

Well, look. I think your characterization, frankly, is just wrong. I don’t think that the service is “a right-wing echo chamber,” to use your words. I think that… you know, everyone can use their voice, and can find media that they trust. That reflects the opinions and the life experiences that they are having.

Some people I think had found before that their experiences weren’t being covered by traditional media and now… are able to find voices and follow them… that resonate more with their life experience. It’s not clear to me that that’s a bad thing. But look. The stories that get the most reach, right, on a day-to-day basis, are the same things that people talk about in the mainstream.

They’re not highly partisan political issues, it’s just meaningful news that’s happening on a day-to-day basis. You know the things that people like, comment, share, things that people act on, like that is usually high decibel, and right now, it’s very heavily from the right, often the hard right. So, it’s true that… partisan content often has… kind of a higher percent of people who see it engaging with it, commenting on it, liking it, kind of engaging in some way. But I think it’s important to differentiate that from broadly what people are seeing, and reading and learning about on our service.

Breitbart News recently reported that in another segment from the Axios interview, Zuckerberg stated that it may take days or even weeks for votes in the upcoming presidential election to be counted and verified but there was “nothing illegitimate” about this practice.

“You said on election day it’s over, but it well might not be, right?” Axios asked Zuckerberg who replied: “I think the dynamic that you’re talking about is really important, which is that we may not know the final result on election night.”

Zuckerberg went on to add: “One of the things that I think we and other media need to start doing is preparing the American people that there’s nothing illegitimate about this election taking additional days, or even weeks to make sure that all of the votes are counted. In fact, that might be important to make sure that this is a legitimate and fair election.”

Mark Zuckerberg Denies that Facebook Is a ‘Right-Wing Echo Chamber’

COMMENTS