Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is going to meet with the heads of conservative media outlets this week. The Wednesday (May 18) sit-down will address allegations that Facebook trending news curators habitually suppressed stories with a conservative bent.
Facebook $META founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is going to meet with the heads of conservative media outlets this week. The Wednesday (May 18) sit-down will address allegations that Facebook trending news curators habitually suppressed stories with a conservative bent.
Fox News’ Dana Perino and The Blaze’s Glenn Beck will be in attendance, as will Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute, CNN’s S.E. Cupp, and Zac Moffatt, formerly Mitt Romney’s digital director.
Join 500,000+ readers who start their day with Quartz.
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
“Mark wanted to meet with eight or ten of us to explain what happened and assure us that it won’t happen again,” Beck wrote in a Facebook post published Saturday (May 14). “How does a company who allowed voices to be heard in Iran and Egypt which sparked revolution silence voices of anyone here?”
“Conservatives and Silicon Valley actually come down on the same side of many issues and share some common concerns,” Cupp told CNN Money. “I’m sure we’ll find plenty to talk about, and I’m honored to have been included.”
Sentiments weren’t all positive: “It is also important to point out that nearly every ‘leading conservative’ listed above who has accepted and confirmed their attendance on Wednesday is part of the anti-Trump or ‘Never Trump’ movement,” the Breitbart new site noted. “The move to invite from this school of ‘conservatives’ flies in the face of Zuckerberg’s claim of creating a diverse group for the discussion.”
Facebook has denied any intentional bias. In an email to Gizmodo, which initially broke the story, a spokesperson said, “We take these reports extremely seriously, and have found no evidence that the anonymous allegations are true.”
