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.
Fox Newsâ Dana Perino and The Blazeâs Glenn Beck will be in attendance, as will Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute, CNNâs S.E. Cupp, and Zac Moffatt, formerly Mitt Romneyâs digital director.
âMark wanted to meet with eight or ten of us to explain what happened and assure us that it wonât happen again,â Beck wrote in a Facebook post published Saturday (May 14). âHow does a company who allowed voices to be heard in Iran and Egypt which sparked revolution silence voices of anyone here?â
âConservatives and Silicon Valley actually come down on the same side of many issues and share some common concerns,â Cupp told CNN Money. âIâm sure weâll find plenty to talk about, and Iâm honored to have been included.â
Sentiments werenât all positive: âIt is also important to point out that nearly every âleading conservativeâ listed above who has accepted and confirmed their attendance on Wednesday is part of the anti-Trump or âNever Trumpâ movement,â the Breitbart new site noted. âThe move to invite from this school of âconservativesâ flies in the face of Zuckerbergâs claim of creating a diverse group for the discussion.â
Facebook has denied any intentional bias. In an email to Gizmodo, which initially broke the story, a spokesperson said, âWe take these reports extremely seriously, and have found no evidence that the anonymous allegations are true.â