Actor and comedian Jim Carrey has joined the chorus of Facebook investors and former executives bashing the platform. In a tweet, he said he was dumping his stock in the company and deleting his account—which had more than 5 million followers. He told others to do the same.
Actor and comedian Jim Carrey has joined the chorus of Facebook $META investors and former executives bashing the platform. In a tweet, he said he was dumping his stock in the company and deleting his account—which had more than 5 million followers. He told others to do the same.
Carrey’s actions follow reports that Russian actors used the platform to spread fake news during the 2016 US elections and bought ads meant to support the election of Donald Trump and sow divisions among the American public.
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“We must encourage more oversight by the owners of these social media platforms,” Carrey told CNBC in a statement. “This easy access has to be more responsibly handled. What we need now are activist investors to send a message that responsible oversight is needed. What the world needs now is capitalism with a conscience.”
In October, activist investor Trillium Asset Management filed a shareholder proposal asking Facebook to establish a risk oversight committee within the company’s board. The investor expects the proposal to be added to Facebook’s proxy statement to be voted on during the company’s annual shareholder meeting in the summer, although chances of the proposal passing are slim.
Carrey also added that social media has “created cyber-bridges over which those who do not have our best interest in mind can cross and we are allowing it.”
He did not say how much Facebook stock he sold or whether he made a profit on its sale.
