Statement on Chan and Zuckerberg Election Investment

Accountable Tech Executive Director Nicole Gill released the following statement Tuesday in response to the announcement that Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg are investing $300 million in election infrastructure:

“Needless to say, this is a significant financial commitment to help state and local officials administer safe and secure elections amid unprecedented challenges, and we applaud that investment. But let’s be clear: There’s not enough money in the world to paper over the damage Facebook has done to democracy.

We’ve seen this ploy time and time again. Facebook donates to Black-owned businesses instead of addressing rampant racism on the platform. They give grants to support local journalism while destroying the industry. They tout investments in their fact-checking program – but give politicians free rein to spew dangerous lies – and in their Oversight Board, which remains inoperative as the platform is weaponized by militias, extremists, and authoritarians.

Mark Zuckerberg needs to stop treating every Facebook crisis as a PR problem to throw money at, and start treating the systemic ailments that fuel them.”

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