Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter appeared to criticize Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Thursday for invoking her father’s name while using free speech to defend his ad policies ahead of the election.
“I heard #MarkZuckerberg’s ‘free expression’ speech, in which he referenced my father,” Bernice King said on Twitter, referring to the big tech billionaire’s speech at Georgetown University. Bernice King’s comments come as some believe Facebook’s ad policies will promote disinformation.
Bernice King added: “I’d like to help Facebook better understand the challenges #MLK faced from disinformation campaigns launched by politicians. These campaigns created an atmosphere for his assassination.” MLK was assassinated in 1968.
I heard #MarkZuckerberg‘s ‘free expression’ speech, in which he referenced my father. I’d like to help Facebook better understand the challenges #MLK faced from disinformation campaigns launched by politicians. These campaigns created an atmosphere for his assassination. pic.twitter.com/h97gvVmtSZ
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) October 17, 2019
Numerous reports suggest the FBI conducted surveillance of the 1960s civil rights leader and used the collected information to discredit MLK. (RELATED: Mark Zuckerberg Leans On Free Speech While Defending Facebook’s Ad Policies)
Facebook’s critics laid into Zuckerberg after the social media platform decided in September to exempt politicians like President Donald Trump from a fact-checks. Media pundits, for instance, believe the change will cause a dramatic uptick in misinformation across the internet.
“It’s a good thing no politicians have ever run Facebook disinformation campaigns in order to tip elections or sow division, that’d be bad,” Kevin Roose, a tech columnist at TheNYT, said in a tweet Tuesday after Facebook’s Nick Clegg announced the change in a blog post.
Bernice King has not responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment through the King Center.
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