Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced he will not be contributing any money to facilitate the 2022 midterm election operations after facing criticism for his alleged meddling in the 2020 presidential election.
Brian Baker, a spokesman for the social media mogul and his wife Priscilla Chan, said the two “are not donating for something like this, ever again,” according to the Washington Times.
In 2020, Zuckerberg contributed nearly $400 million to supposedly support elections administrations amid uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics have alleged that Zuckerberg’s spending was targeted to help secure votes for Democrats, especially in key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and Michigan, the outlet reported.
Zuckerberg millions won’t be part of mid-term elections, says it was a ‘one-time’ thing — but don’t think that means next election will be secure https://t.co/zL34hultpy
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 12, 2022
Republican New York Rep. Claudia Tenney told the Daily Caller last year that “Mark Zuckerberg channeled $350 million to government agencies during the 2020 election with zero transparency or accountability.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Tenney, House Republicans To Introduce ‘End Zuckerbucks Act’ Prohibiting Non-Profits From Donating To Election Organizations)
🚨Our pressure worked: CTCL, the non-profit Mark Zuckerberg used to funnel millions to boards of elections in 2020, announced it will not distribute Zuckerbucks in 2022. A BIG win for election integrity! Now, we need to pass the #EndZuckerbucksAct to stop it from happening again.
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) April 12, 2022
In response to the controversy, Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill outlawing state and local election officials from accepting private money for election operations, according to the Washington Times.