Statement on Zuckerberg Voting Announcement

For Immediate Release
June 17, 2020
Contact: press@accountabletech.org

Accountable Tech co-founder Jesse Lehrich released the following statement Wednesday in response to Mark Zuckerberg’s op-ed:

“On the one hand, it’s encouraging to see Mark Zuckerberg preview a seemingly robust effort to help Americans vote in November – and that progress is a testament to the relentless advocacy from Facebook employees, civil rights activists, and many others who have made their voices difficult to ignore in recent weeks.

On the other, Zuckerberg’s pledge to ‘actively support well-informed voter engagement’ is belied by his refusal to address the toxicity and misinformation that Facebook artificially boosts, as well as his insistence on wholly exempting candidates from standards; adding factual context or warning labels to posts is not censorship. And letting users turn off political ads is a cop-out, not a solution.

Still, setting out to register 4 million voters, elevate authoritative voting information, and drive turnout are significant commitments. We look forward to seeing them implemented, and will continue pushing Facebook and other platforms to do much more to promote the health of our democracy.”

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