Unregulated Trump statement of “glorifying violence” sparks virtual walkout from Facebook employees

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Dozens of Facebook employees took to Twitter to protest the company’s rule of “language that incites or facilitates serious violence” and targeted Zuckerberg because it left Trump’s statement “glorifying violence” alone.
• Trump’s statement which included “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” was hidden by Twitter behind a warning label while Facebook left it alone.
• The Facebook employees who are working from home staged the virtual walkout by changing their out-of-office email response to say they were unavailable and requesting paid time off in Facebook’s systems.

Facebook’s rival, Twitter, became a venue for the employees’ protest.

“Mark is wrong, and I will endeavor in the loudest possible way,” said Ryan Frietas, director of product design for Facebook’s News Feed. 

Trump’s post on Twitter which included “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” was hidden by Twitter with a warning label as it violated its rules against “glorifying violence” but was left up as “a public service” exception.

Meanwhile, Facebook left Trump’s statement alone.  This made the workers protest as it goes against Facebook’s rule regarding “language that incites or facilitates serious violence.”

Facebook director for product management Jason Toff, tweeted that he was “not proud” of how his company was dealing with the matter. 

Zuckerberg on the other hand, found Trump’s statement to be “deeply offensive” but maintains that it does not violate Facebook’s policy against “incitements to violence”.

In a statement to The Post, company officials said that they are listening to the employees’ criticisms and recognize the pain many of the people are feeling right now, especially our black community.

“We encourage employees to speak openly when they disagree with leadership. As we face additional difficult decisions around content ahead, we’ll continue seeking their honest feedback.”

The virtual walkout from the Facebook employees working from home came in the form of changing their out-of-office email response to say they were unavailable and requesting paid time off in Facebook’s systems.

Source: New York Post