• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Thursday, May 22, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook decision to run political ads

The Canary by The Canary
31 October 2019
in Global, News, UK
Reading Time: 3 mins read
170 2
A A
0
Home Global
319
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has stood by his company’s decision to run political adverts after Twitter announced it would ban them.

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey said in a series of tweets on 30 October that all political advertising on the social media platform would cease on 22 November.

It came as Facebook faced criticism after disclosing it would not fact-check most political ads, instead only banning adverts containing claims debunked by third-party fact-checkers.

We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought. Why? A few reasons…🧵

— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) October 30, 2019

Less than an hour after Dorsey’s announcement, Zuckerberg spoke about what he said was Facebook’s deep belief “that political speech is important” and stood by his company’s decision.

“Some people accuse us of allowing speech because they think all we care about is making money, and that’s wrong,” he said in a Facebook earnings conference call after the Twitter announcement.

“I can assure you that, from a business perspective, the controversy this creates far outweighs the very small percentage of our business that these political ads make up.

“I don’t think anyone can say that we are not doing what we believe or we haven’t thought hard about these issues.”

Internet political ads present entirely new challenges to civic discourse: machine learning-based optimization of messaging and micro-targeting, unchecked misleading information, and deep fakes. All at increasing velocity, sophistication, and overwhelming scale.

— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) October 30, 2019

Meanwhile, Twitter chief executive Dorsey said political message reach “should be earned, not bought”.

He said in a series of tweets: “A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet.

“Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing highly optimized and targeted political messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money.”

Facebook’s revenue in the past three months was up 29% at 17.7bn US dollars (£13.7bn) compared with 13.7bn dollars (£10.6bn) for the same period last year, while monthly active users increased by 8% to 2.45 billion, its latest financial report shows.

Advertising revenue also increased from 13.5bn dollars (£10.5bn) to 17.4bn dollars (£13.5bn).

Mark Zuckerberg comments
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg (Niall Carson/PA)

The results were published as the firm agreed to pay a £500,000 fine following an investigation into the use of personal data in political campaigns.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced on 30 October that the tech giant had withdrawn its appeal against the “monetary penalty notice” and would accept the fine without admitting any liability.

Earlier in October, US presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren highlighted her own concerns over Facebook’s political advertising policy by paying for a series of adverts which included false claims about Zuckerberg.

The adverts, which successfully appeared on the social network, claimed the Facebook founder had endorsed US President Donald Trump for re-election next year, before suggesting they had given politicians “free rein to lie” on the platform.

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

Labour and Conservatives trade blows at the start of their general election campaigns

Next Post

Tory Party election exodus: twenty-five MPs announce they’re standing down

Next Post
Tory Party election exodus: twenty-five MPs announce they’re standing down

Tory Party election exodus: twenty-five MPs announce they're standing down

Jeremy Corbyn and Sun logo

In a strange twist, the Sun delivers utterly delicious election news for Jeremy Corbyn

Violence in UK prisons continues to soar as self-harming hits new high

Violence in UK prisons continues to soar as self-harming hits new high

Johnson faces mockery as his much-promised Brexit deadline comes and goes

Johnson faces mockery as his much-promised Brexit deadline comes and goes

Jeremy Corbyn GE2019 Campaign Launch Speech

The five words from Corbyn that shatter Johnson's 'people vs parliament' slogan

Please login to join discussion
FBU has warned Labour over Nigel Farage
News

The FBU just slammed Farage – and Labour – in one fell swoop

by The Canary
22 May 2025
Starmer Israel Corbyn
Analysis

The Independent just said Starmer’s support for Israel’s genocide is all Corbyn’s fault

by Ed Sykes
22 May 2025
Kneecap
Analysis

The pearl-clutching over Kneecap is a carnival of distraction from genocide

by Maryam Jameela
22 May 2025
Digital Surveillance: The Hidden Cost of Convenience
Tech

Digital Surveillance: The Hidden Cost of Convenience

by Nathan Spears
22 May 2025
horoscope
Horoscopes

Horoscope today: your 24-hour briefing for life, love, and more

by Steve Topple
22 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

FBU has warned Labour over Nigel Farage
News
The Canary

The FBU just slammed Farage – and Labour – in one fell swoop

Starmer Israel Corbyn
Analysis
Ed Sykes

The Independent just said Starmer’s support for Israel’s genocide is all Corbyn’s fault

Kneecap
Analysis
Maryam Jameela

The pearl-clutching over Kneecap is a carnival of distraction from genocide

Tech
Nathan Spears

Digital Surveillance: The Hidden Cost of Convenience

ADVERTISEMENT
Analysis
Nathan Spears

Vote for the Press Photograph of the Year 2024

Image by Burkard Meyendriesch from Pixabay
Feature
Nathan Spears

Why Santiago Ways is the Leading Choice for Walking the Camino de Santiago

Environment
Nathan Spears

EU elections point to growing public desire for new policymaking approach in Brussels